You Don't Get Lucky Twice
by mooneyprongs
Summary: A terrible thing has happened to Hermione and Draco is left wondering what role he has to play in it.
1. Who's the Father, Granger?

There wasn't really a name for the place where the little house by the sea rested. Sure, there was a name for the town but that didn't really matter in the scheme of things. The little house was cozy and the family that lived there loved it more than anything, especially the young boy, who was no older than three, sitting on the house's porch.

The sea wasn't anywhere near calm today and for some reason the clouds were a darker shade than what the news forecast had promised. If it weren't for it being that time of year, the mother of the little boy would have been worried.

It had been _years_, five years to be exact, since the battle at Hogwarts happened. Hermione had tried to move on from everything. She couldn't stay in London to work for the Ministry of Magic as Harry had. She couldn't be around familiar faces without seeing the pain and destruction everything had caused. Of course, she still kept in touch with Harry and Ron, along with the rest of the Weasleys, but she didn't see much use in always being there with them. She decided that the best thing to do was to leave it all behind her.

A month after the war, she had moved to a mostly muggle town by the name of Seaford, with that same idea that it would be good for her to just get away from everything _magic_. She didn't really give up magic though, seeing as it would keep her safe, but being away from everything would be good for her.

True it wasn't really the Gryffindor thing to do, her running away, but she felt that she more than proved herself when she helped Harry defeat Voldemort. Plus, she was out of Hogwarts now, she had been for a while, and she couldn't spend her whole life being measured by which house she got put into in school.

She had enough money to survive for as long as she needed to after receiving her Order of Merlin, First Class. So, she took her wand, a few things that meant something to her and left to the house by the sea. Hermione was finally ready to _find_ herself, no matter how hard it might be for her.

It turned out it wasn't hard at all. It happened on a Friday in the middle of August when she had decided to go to Diagon Alley to visit Harry and Ron, who she hadn't seen since she first left. They weren't happy but didn't give her too much grief after she explained why she _had_ to go. After they had a serious talk over lunch, Ron mentioned something about having to meet someone somewhere. Harry left not too long after that, leaving Hermione alone.

It wasn't until maybe two hours later, when she was waiting in line at Flourish and Blotts, that he saw her. Nathaniel Cooper was maybe just a few years older than her and had heard about her through his cousin in Ravenclaw, though all he really knew was that she was really smart with crazy, curly hair and, of course, was friends with Harry Potter.

He had told his cousin that it _'didn't really matter' _but seeing her now, he wasn't quite sure he should've opened his mouth so quickly. She might have been smart and true, she did have crazy, curly hair but that wasn't what caught his attention. It was the fact that even though she was in line to pay for her books, she was reading them with such fervor, as if she was _that_ anxious to learn all of what the book contained. It was also incredibly cute to him that she didn't notice the impatient woman behind her. "Excuse me, ma'am. You're holding up the line."

She jumped a little, bringing her out of her little world and she hurried up to front desk to pay for the books she carried. "Hi, sorry about that."

"It's quite alright. You're Hermione Granger, right?" She nodded despite not wanting people to know she was there. The last thing she needed was to be asked a million questions that she didn't want to answer. The man in front of her tallied up the amount she'd have to pay then bounded up her books to make it easier to carry out. After she paid, she tried her hardest to get away only to have the man follow her and invite her to dinner, much to the line's displeasure.

Hermione had reluctantly said yes. Their dinner date went surprisingly well and it led to a few months of just talking and getting to know each other better. She had let it be known that she wasn't exactly ready for a relationship. Nathaniel understood and gave her as much time and space as she wanted but without really backing off. He was absolutely smitten by her and couldn't think about anything other than being with her. He wouldn't give her the chance to decide against being with him.

It wasn't until another month that she decided to actually let the relationship progress. She hadn't realized just how fast she found herself getting comfortable with him and letting him know everything about her. He was the only one, besides Harry and Ron, that knew all of her worries and what sometimes made her stay awake at night. Nathaniel was becoming the love of her life.

Before she knew it she was walking down the aisle at her traditional muggle wedding, which was Nathaniel's idea. He knew how she felt about having a mixture of muggle culture in her life and he was prepared to give her anything and everything she wanted.

Not even a month later, more good news came when Hermione found out she was pregnant. It was a normal pregnancy, filled with both muggle and magic worries. But nearly nine months later all their doubt and worries were crushed when their beautiful son, Landon Cooper was born. He was absolutely perfect.

And that's what brought her back to her current life. She had been sitting in the kitchen of the small house looking out at her son. He was everything she could ask for and more. He took brains from _both_ of his parents and had the most amazing imagination. Hermione had never been so proud of something she had created before.

"Do you think maybe it's time to bring him in?" Nathaniel had been sure that there was something wrong about the weather, but Hermione assured him that if it started to rain she would bring him in.

"No, it looks like he's enjoying the wind." At this moment, the thunder clapped so loud that she was positive the house shook but Landon's laughter took the worry straight out of her mind. "He loves it."

"I don't know who he got that from because I hate storms." Hermione just smiled. There was very few moments where she felt completely okay with _everything_ that had happened in her life, but when she had them, she didn't want to let go for the world. "I seriously think we should bring him inside, though. It just keeps getting darker but there's no rain."

"I know, but look at him, he'll be _so devastated_ if we bring him in right now. You know how much he loves being outside." He gave her a look but dropped it quickly when he noticed a bolt of lightning landing closer than he personally would have liked it too. "Okay. _Okay_, bring him in."

* * *

><p>It had taken a while to finally get Landon to sleep, but it was now half past one in the morning and Hermione was about ready to go to bed as well. "What do you think he dreams about?"<p>

She looked at her husband with a little grin and shrugged. "Probably about new toys we've yet to buy him or about going out to Diagon Alley to get ice cream. I hope so at least. We don't need our little boy having bad dreams."

"He does have them though, he told me about them once." After seeing the incredulous look his wife was giving him, he continued. "It was only a couple of times and he said they were about the stories Harry had told him. Of course I've talked to Harry about it, don't worry and he said that all he had told him was about how brave you were. I think Donny is just scared about losing you."

Hermione had nightmares too. Ones that were quite similar to her son's dreams, though she didn't know it. They always had to do with the notion that maybe, just maybe Voldemort wasn't dead; that this war was far from over and it was only a matter of time before he came back and killed everyone she cared about. But she was told time and time again that Voldemort was in fact dead and wouldn't be coming back at all.

Again, Hermione knew that they were only nightmares but could anyone exactly blame her for feeling the way that she did? When it really came down to it, all she was doing was worrying about her friends and family.

"I know what you're thinking about and it does nothing to worry." Nathaniel held his wife from behind and kissed her shoulder to comfort her. She relaxed a little, letting out a shaky breath.

"I can't help it. I know that the chance of something really bad happening is slim but it's not entirely impossible." He couldn't argue. Not all the Death Eaters had been captured and though for the past five years nothing has happened, they couldn't exactly assume they were safe. "I just want you and Landon to be safe."

"I understand that, love, but you can't let yourself waste time with worrying. It isn't healthy."

She knew that her husband was right and pushed the thought out of her head before she thought of other reasons to continue worrying. Instead she pulled out of Nathaniel's arms so she could face him. "You're right. I think we should go to bed."

"Quite right."

They weren't halfway to the bed when a large crash sounded through the house followed by the cries of the three year old.

Nathaniel turned to Hermione, "Go get Landon."

With her wand , she ran into her son's room and locked them in. "Shh, quiet love it's only thunder. You love thunder don't you?"

She tried not to flinch when she heard the muffled yelling and quickly put a soundproof charm on the door. Hermione looked down at the little boy, crying in her arms. "It's okay, Donny. Daddy is going to be right back and then we'll read you your favorite bedtime story. He'll even do the voices."

"Oh love, don't you cry. Everything is okay. You know mummy and daddy won't let any-"

The door blew open causing Donny to scream and distracting Hermione long enough for the tall man to disarm her. She felt a sudden wave of despair knowing that she now had nothing to protect her son. "Well if it isn't Miss Mudblood or should I say Mrs… or maybe widow… It's been a while since I've seen that brilliant look on your face. Aren't brave this time, are you, Mudblood?

And you've got a little mutt with you. Rather disgusting if I say so- where do you think you're going!?" The tall man in the long black cloak flicked his wand, smirking. Hermione lost all control over her body and though she tried to move, she just lay there, stiff. Landon, now sitting next to his mother, was crying louder than before, which annoyed the man but he couldn't lose focus just now. "I've planned this for a very long time. You, Potter and Weasley have ruined my life and you think you can just run off and _live_? You're going to pay, Granger. But for now I think this will do just fine."

Pulling off his hood, she saw the blond haired kid she had resented all of her life. He wasn't a kid anymore, though, he was full grown and malicious. He smirked when he saw the fear and realization pass through her eyes. "Funny isn't it, Granger?"

Then without another word, he pointed his wand at the crying boy and looking directly at her, yelled, "OBLIVIATE."

With another flick of his wand, she felt her muscles relax and then she was up. She tried to race to her wand but he was too fast.

"Just one more thing; _Who's the father, Granger?_" and with a pop he was gone.

* * *

><p><strong>an : **I know this is short and the following chapter will be short too, seeing as how they're introductions, but I promise the following chapters will be longer. If you have anything to say, I'd love to hear it!

p.s. - I would just like to say that I do not own anything or anybody from Harry Potter, they solely belong to J.K. Rowling. This goes for the entire story.


	2. This is Serious, Malfoy

Draco Malfoy hadn't been the most liked person after the battle at Hogwarts. In fact, it took him almost a year to find a job despite the fact that he was the top of his house back at Hogwarts.

It was only because of Harry that he didn't end up hiding away with his parents or in Azkaban. But just because Harry had forgiven him didn't mean that the wizarding world was ready to. To everyone he was a traitor who had been part of a plan to kill Albus Dumbledore and helped take countless lives at Hogwarts during the battle. Even his father had restrained from talking to him, but he convinced himself that it was only because he was on the run. Draco's mum sent him a letter only once, explaining that she was leaving him her share of the Black family fortune and that she wished him as happy a life he as could manage.

All in all, Draco Malfoy was completely alone, and to make it worse, he was working for the Ministry of Magic. The only reason he got the job was, again, because of Harry Potter. He had convinced the Ministry that having Draco as an Auror would be beneficial with catching as many Death Eaters as they could, which Draco wasn't exactly excited about.

"You don't have to give us much, just a few names to keep the Minister satisfied. Plus I'd appreciate the help." In the end, Draco gave them sixty of the names he knew were in Voldemort's circle and where Harry might find them.

Four years later and he was still stuck in the Auror's office doing pointless things like small raids, petty theft and insane amounts of paperwork. He was going to go mad.

It didn't help any that people still looked at him as if at any second he was going to pull out his wand and put an Unforgivable on everyone in the area. Draco needed an out of his misery but reminded himself that this was a lot better than hiding or being in Azkaban.

Currently, Draco was sitting at his desk looking at the insane amount of paperwork he was going to have to fill out over the raid in Brixton. "Where did my life go horribly wrong?"

"You know, Malfoy, talking to yourself is not normal even in the wizarding world." He looked up to see Potter standing in his office doorway wearing an amused look on his face. "And by the look on your face, you probably don't want me to answer that question."

"Genius, Potter, with brains like that you should be the Minister." With a grin, Harry sat in the seat across from Draco. "Is there any reason you're in my office?"

"Yes, actually; Kingsley wants progress with the Death Eaters. We've caught a majority, but as you know, we haven't gotten them all. The Minister believes that they're a ticking time bomb and that we are pushing our luck. As much as I want to agree, I haven't seen a single thing to show that they're going to do anything. They're all hiding."

"Or they're waiting for someone to be brave enough to carry on Voldemort's plan. I gave you as much as I could and I'm not willing to give up my parents, not that I even know where they are. We're stuck and personally I prefer it that way. If there's no leads that means they're not acting out." Harry shrugged as if to say that it wasn't in his control. "So it's a demand. He wants someone. Well, Potter, that's your job. I have to fill out _paperwork_."

"I think he wants more than one person, but yes he definitely needs at least one. He's hoping that if we get someone new and make it public all the other Death Eaters will start moving around and slip up or something." Draco sighed. He had wanted nothing to do with that old part of his life. He needed to just get away from it all once and for all, but it just wasn't going to happen for him. "Don't make me remind you that the reason the Minister even gave you the job was because we needed to catch Death Eaters."

"You don't have to, I already know."

There was a sharp rap on the door. "Mr. Potter, someone by the name of Hermione Cooper is here to see you. She said she didn't need an appointment."

_Hermione Cooper? Who in the world is Hermione Cooper? Granger?_

"Draco, I'm going to go. Try to think of something I can work with, yeah?" When he left the room Draco was still thinking of Hermione. _Did someone actually marry Granger?_

It wasn't actually that astonishing though, he thought. She was pretty, smart and – what the hell was he thinking. Sure it had been years since then and he's changed practically everything about himself but _she was still Granger. _He shook his head. This was the girl that punched him in the face, the one that always made him feel less than anything back in school. She thought she knew it all and she made sure to let everyone know it. It had made him bitter which made him call her a few names that he regretted but she wasn't any better than he was.

But who cared about that anymore, that was when they were children and they were adults now. She was married and probably had a better job than he did. All he had was an empty home.

Draco started to feel the familiar tinge of jealousy that he had felt all those years back at Hogwarts and then all of a sudden he was livid. How was it fair that his whole life was _ruined_ by the way he was raised? If his parents cared more about him and about others then he wouldn't have grown up to be the arrogant brat he was in Hogwarts. He probably would have even been friends with Potter and Weasley.

He hadn't noticed that Harry had come back until his office door slammed shut. "Tell me where you were yesterday night."

He took a second to study Harry's face to see if he was being serious or not. "I was with the Queen and the Prime Minister discussing last week's Quidditch match. Where do you think I was?"

"This is serious, Malfoy. Where were you?" Though Harry's face had softened, his tone was still harsh.

"I was at home, _Potter_. I don't know if you've noticed but I don't have much of a social life." He didn't know what was going on and he was positive that Harry didn't either. "Now can you tell me why you're treating me like a prisoner you interrogate before throwing them in Azkaban?"

"I think you need to come to my office."

* * *

><p>The first thing he noticed was that Harry's office was way bigger than his, not that he had expected anything less. Potter was more universally liked than Draco was, so there was no real shock to see that he was treated better. Plus, he was higher ranked than Draco was.<p>

The second thing he noticed was the little boy sleeping in his mum's arms. He looked peaceful and he envied the little boy. That was until he noticed the last thing; his mum. Hermione was staring straight at Draco and he'd be lying if he said his heart didn't jump a little.

She looked older than she had when he last saw her, obviously. Her hair was a little more tame, but curly all the same. She had grown into her face quite well and he admired the freckles that fell sporadically on her face. Her mouth was in a thin line and there was a red tint to her cheeks. When he finally focused on her eyes, he stopped, confused. In them there was fear, hatred, hurt and something else he couldn't quite place. "I… Potter, what's going on?"

Harry glanced at Hermione who nodded slightly, just wanting him to get it over with. "Last night someone broke into Hermione's house. They…"

Harry sat down; not really knowing how to proceed with the conversation. How could he explain in just a few minutes what destroyed his best friend's entire life? "Harry, please, before Landon wakes up. He has no idea what's going on and I don't want to scare him any more than he already is."

"The person who broke into the Cooper's residence killed Nathaniel Cooper who was trying to prevent the invader from going any further into the house." Hermione let out a little sob and Harry looked at her sympathetically. He hesitated but continued. "The invader went into the room where Hermione and her son Landon were hiding. He let her know why he was doing this and then wiped her son's memory… he now knows _nothing_ about his father but he does know that someone went into the house that night and hurt his mother. Before the man left he lowered his cloak… It was you, Malfoy."

Draco's heart stopped. Admittedly, he didn't like Hermione all that much in the past, but to go and kill her husband? To threaten her family? No. "It wasn't me."

"She saw you, Draco and I'm sure if Landon was to wake up right now he'd be too terrified to even look at you… and I have to believe Hermione…" He looked pained. This was the last thing Harry ever wanted to discuss. "Is there any possibility that you were under the Imperius?"

Was there? He would've remembered if he was…

"I don't know." Draco ran his fingers through his hair. "I didn't wake up sore or with anything that indicated I was in a duel. Plus, I would've remembered if I was, wouldn't I?"

"Right, but whoever had you under the Imperius could have healed you and wiped the memory from your head."

"That's assuming I was under the Imperius to begin with."

"What else could it possibly have been? Polyjuice? Hermione swears on it being you." Draco turned to look at her, their eyes locking again. He noticed her expression change, her eyes had the same hurt but now there was a hint of confusion, as if she was expecting to look into the eyes of the man who killed her husband.

She quickly turned away and got up. "I have to go. Harry, do you mind if we stay at your house? I don't think I can return back to Seaford. Not anytime soon, at least."

"Yeah, go wait for me out in the hall, I'll be right there." When she left the room, Harry turned his attention back to Draco. "I think it's important if you help us with this case, not as a victim, but as an Auror. We won't let anyone else know who it was she saw, for now. Whatever this is, Malfoy, it's huge and it might not stop with her. They could be coming after everyone who had a help in defeating Voldemort."

"Or they could be getting rid of everyone who they think might stop them from rising."

"But then why would the let her live?" Draco didn't know. He knew many Death Eaters back then that would have loved to finish what his aunt had started, but most of them had been dead or in Azkaban for years. And no one he could think of would just let her go and give her a chance to tell Harry.

"What if it isn't a Death Eater?" It was a long shot, but it could explain why they let her live.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean any Death Eater would have killed Granger without thinking about it twice. More so, if they made the effort to break through her wards. What if the person doing this _wants_ you to think it's a Death Eater?" Harry hadn't thought of that. It would easily be the start of another war and it would get rid of the remaining Death Eaters and maybe even some of the Aurors. "But who would want to?"

"Someone who was close to Voldemort?"

"No, there wasn't anyone really close to him. Bellatrix was pretty much the only person who got close and now she's dead. Plus, I really don't think it's a Death Eater. I don't know who it could be but they're mad and they're going to do their best to ruin her life and possibly yours."

They both knew that it was only just a theory and there was no real proof that it wasn't a Death Eater. Hell, the only real proof of anything was that Draco Malfoy was in that house last night.

"I have to go take her to Grimmauld Place… For now I think you should start thinking of anyone we don't already have in Azkaban. We can't rule out Death Eaters right now." Harry got up and led Draco out of his office. "Also it might help if you think of anyone who might want to see _you_ in Azkaban."

"We'd have all of London in here if that were the case."

* * *

><p>When Draco got home, he was still thinking about all that happened today. There was no way that he could have been at Granger's home. He didn't even know where she lived until today. He hadn't even <em>heard<em> anything about her till today.

It was all too strange. _Why would they use him to kill her husband?_ It wasn't as if he and Granger even thought about each other in the past five years. _That's a lie. _He still thought about her often. It was hard for him not to think about her when she was a huge part of his life.

It was her fault that he started changing the way he acted towards muggle-borns. She was smarter than him, had more friends, had a family that really cared about her; yet his parents forced him to believe that she was less than he was because of who she was born to? He was gullible and arrogant because of it.

He had started doubting everything his parents told him then. Sure, he had already suspected that his parents' priorities were screwed… Who would go back and pledge their allegiance to Voldemort knowing that their only child would be in danger? And even if they had thought that if they didn't he would still be in danger, they never really had shown a hint of remorse for how he was raised or for what happened to him.

Draco's whole life was just a lot of failed attempts at him trying to fool everyone, including himself, into thinking he had a better life than they did. Even now all he did was try to ignore the fact that he was always going to have a miserable life. No one trusted him. No one wanted to be his friend. His parents didn't care how he was doing. He barely even got this job. He had nothing.

He would never have what Granger, Potter and even Weasley have. He would never have friends or family or just plain happiness. It wasn't okay, but he'd have to live with it. He understood that he could never go back and change the person he was. He wasn't even sure he would, when he really thought about it.

But, Draco was sure of one thing; something big was happening and he wasn't going to make the same mistakes.

* * *

><p><strong>an: I **know these first two chapters are short but it's because it's more of an introduction... I promise that the next chapters will be significantly longer... as for now I would love to know what you think - jo


	3. The Little House

When Hermione finally got to Grimmauld Place, the young boy in her arms was still sleeping. She frowned, knowing that when he finally did wake up, he wouldn't remember a thing about his amazing father who had given his life to protect him and his mother. It almost drove her to tears just thinking about it.

She looked around and noticed that the only real thing that changed since the last time she had been here were the pictures on the walls. There were a lot of pictures of Harry and his wife, her friend, Ginny with a small smiling boy. She felt a splash of envy and quickly shook it away.

But the thought hadn't left her head. She had had a perfect life. She had finally found the perfect husband, had the perfect child, lived in a perfect house and it had all been taken away in the blink of an eye. Hermione knew she didn't deserve what had happened to her. She felt that this was the outcome of a sick curse someone must have put on her. It must have been.

Once Harry had successfully led her to the sitting room he left to go upstairs and place an extra bed in James' room so Landon could have a place to sleep. She was grateful for her friend. She really was, but she couldn't help but get sick looking at the walls of his home, looking at the smiling faces.

Shaking her head, she looked down at the sleeping boy wondering how he could look so peaceful when his world had just been ripped apart. She felt the urge to cry again, but ignored it so she wouldn't disturb her baby boy's sleep. Hermione took a deep breath and willed her thoughts away for now.

They were instantly replaced with Malfoy. She had been so confused when she saw him. He looked so sure that he wasn't there that night and when she looked into his eyes, she didn't see the malicious glare of the Dark Malfoy from last night. She had been _so_ sure that it was him, though. She had been positive that the man that took everything from her was the real Malfoy.

Now she didn't know what to think or even how to feel about him. Hermione had felt absolutely broken, that much she did know. She didn't know how she would explain to her son what had happened, or how she would tell him about his father, or even how to tell him that they would be working with, what he knew him as, the big scary man.

Harry thudding back down the stairs was a distraction that she was grateful for. "I put a bed in James' room. You can take Landon up, if you want."

With a small nod, Hermione got up, careful not to wake Donny. When she was in the room, she noticed the small boy sitting in his bed, looking at her with curious eyes. James really did look like the perfect mix of Ginny and Harry. He was a beautiful boy. He had green eyes with messy, brown hair and Ginny's nose. She simply smiled at him then turned and put Donny in the bed Harry had made for him, covering him up with the handmade blankets from Mrs. Weasley. "Rest my love."

She didn't move until she heard noises downstairs. Hermione knew that Ginny was home and Harry was probably filling her in on everything that happened that day. She waited a few more minutes before leaving the room with the now two sleeping boys and headed downstairs.

It took maybe a minute of her standing there before the red headed witch noticed her, greeting her with a warm smile. Harry had told her, she knew from the look in her eyes, but at least she wasn't gushing over her. Hermione barely smiled back but walked toward the couple. "Hermione, I've missed you."

"I've missed you too, Ginny." Hermione really did miss her friend. It had been a while since she had visited the Potters. "Harry, do you have any tea?"

He nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. Hermione knew that Ginny would want to talk to her and one pair of sympathetic eyes was enough for now. She didn't realize she had just been staring into space for a minute until Ginny made a little cough. Hermione snapped her attention back to Ginny. "Harry told you about what happened?"

"He didn't tell me much, just about what happened to Nathaniel and that it'd be safer for you to stay here. Other than that, I'm completely clueless. I think he just didn't want me to jump on you and scream the moment I saw you. Smart boy." Hermione couldn't help but smile. She loved Ginny for not becoming a completely different person with her. "How are you feeling?"

"Sad. I don't know. I'm angry at what happened. I'm angry that Landon had to be there when it all happened. I'm entirely broken knowing that whoever did this is doing it because of me. It's what they want. They want me to feel like I'm the reason my family is dead." Ginny nodded along even though Hermione was sure Harry didn't go into specifics of that night. "I don't regret what I did five years ago. I don't regret helping Harry save innocent people, but I can't help but feeling that it's all my fault. Nathaniel would still be alive if I had told him no that day at Flourish and Blotts."

"Hermione, you can't think like that. Nathaniel loved you and if he had been given the chance to start over knowing how it would end for him, he'd still choose to have this life with you. It's horrible that he was taken from you. It wasn't fair, but don't go and try to place the blame on yourself. You didn't choose to ruin a family." Deep down, Hermione knew Ginny was right. She knew that she couldn't go around blaming herself for what happened to Nathaniel and Landon, but she couldn't help but think this wouldn't have happened to them if they had had a different wife or mother.

"I know, Gin. I know it isn't my fault but it feels like it is. I can feel the guilt consuming me." She hadn't noticed she was crying until Ginny held her and gave her a box of tissue papers. She muttered a quick thanks and wiped the tears from her face. 'I should go check up on Landon."

"No, he's asleep, and you were just up there. You need to get some rest too." Harry came back with the tea and set it on the little table. "C'mon let's sit and then I'll show you to your room."

* * *

><p>When Hermione finally woke up, she realized there was something warm next to her. There was just a sliver of hope that the previous day was only a nightmare and when she'd open her eyes, she'd see her husband. She knew it was farfetched and when she did finally open her eyes, she saw her son cuddled up against her. She smiled a little and ran her fingers through the little boy's hair.<p>

"Mumma, you awake!" Landon sat up only enough to hug his mother tightly. She melted into the hug and pulled him in closer, allowing herself to feel normal, if only for a few seconds.

"Yeah, love, I'm awake. How about you go ask Uncle Harry for some food and I'll be downstairs in a minute." The little boy nodded and left the room. Hermione got up from the bed and stretched. It was only then that she realized she didn't have any clothes to change into.

Sighing deeply, she cast a quick spell to freshen herself up and headed downstairs, where she could hear everyone in the house moving about. She allowed herself another quick second of normalcy before she walked into the kitchen.

Harry was sitting at the table, playing with James, while Ginny sat down smiling at him. Hermione's heart lurched. She remembered looking at Nathaniel like that and hearing Landon's laughs, cheering his daddy on. She willed herself away from those thoughts and looked around to find Landon standing on a chair talking to Molly.

She wished she could be relieved to see Mrs. Weasley, but she knew that she would try to coddle her and ask her if she was okay. Hermione wasn't sure she was ready for that, yet.

She focused on watching Landon smile up at the elder witch, laughing about something she probably told him about Ron, who was his favorite "uncle". Hermione couldn't help but feel her stomach turn when she realized that it all looked too normal. How could they be acting like nothing was happening?

She turned out of the room and ran back upstairs to her room. She couldn't breathe anymore. Her life had just been ripped apart and it was finally going to catch up to her. The man she loved wasn't ever going to hold her again, he wasn't ever going to kiss her shoulder and tell her to stop worrying. He wasn't going to do anything anymore and it was killing her.

"Hermione, what's wrong?"

"Leave me alone, Harry. I need to be alone." She sat down on the bed, putting her hands on her knee and choked on a sob. "_Please_."

Harry didn't leave the room, though. He sat next to her, placing a comforting hand on her back and let out a small sigh. "I know you want to be alone, Hermione, I understand that, but you can't push us away right now. We know how hard it's going to be for you, especially when we think about Landon."

"He's out there smiling and laughing, Harry. I'm sitting here sick to my stomach and he is oblivious. I mean, I don't want him to be crying or sad all the time, but it's killing me. He just lost his dad and he doesn't even remember anything about him." Harry held the crying girl. How could he comfort her? He was hopeless.

"Hermione, I'm sorry. I really am, but you've got to be strong. Maybe not now, _of course_, but soon Landon is going to need his mother." She understood that. She knew that she was eventually going to put on a brave face so Landon wouldn't worry. This was something she knew she'd have to do the moment she stepped into the ministry to talk to Harry.

There were actually many things that Hermione had thought about when everything first happened. She had wondered if she could get her hands on a Time-Turner and stop what had happened, though pushed the thought away when she realized it could simply happen again and Landon would be in danger.

Then she thought about using the Time-Turner to go back and kill Malfoy before he could do what he did, but realized she'd be of more use to Landon if she wasn't in Azkaban.

She had also thought about going to Malfoy Manor, which also wasn't a brilliant idea considering it had been abandoned for years. She would have gone anywhere she thought Draco would have been. She would have forced him to give her son his memory back. She would have done _anything_ if she had gotten the chance.

Instead, she was sitting here, crying next to her best friend. She felt hopeless. It was far different than when they were trying to defeat Voldemort. They at least had some knowledge as to what had been going on. All they knew now was that someone wanted to make sure she was right miserable. They weren't failing either.

She stayed quiet for a little while longer until she finally decided to get up. "I should go back downstairs, I'm sure Landon wants to see me."

Harry nodded and got up, opening the door for her. "You should also eat something. Mum would probably make you whatever you wanted."

Hermione nodded and walked out of the room. Once she was downstairs, Landon ran up to her, yelling "UP! UP! MUMMA, UP!" and clung to her legs until she picked him up. "Mumma missed Donny a lot."

"Donny miss mumma wots!" She smiled at the little boy and placed a kiss on his cheek. When she turned around and went to the kitchen, they both saw Mrs. Weasley, causing Landon to wiggle in Hermione's arms. "Mowwy mates ummy food, mumma. I go wit Mowwy."

She reluctantly put him down and watched him run to the older witch. Molly picked him up and smiled at Hermione. "Dear, you must be hungry. Maybe Donny would like to help me."

Seeing how happy and eager Landon was to help, Hermione gave in with a small smile and sat down. "I'm starving, actually."

"Good, I'll make you some pancakes and bacon. Anything else?"

"Pancakes and bacon sounds perfect. Thank you, Molly."

* * *

><p>After Hermione ate, she settled in the sitting room, watching Landon play with James. She still felt a little sick, but she was able to keep it down with the sounds of Landon laughing. It was actually like a sort of medicine to her.<p>

Ginny had tried talking to her the moment she stepped into the room, but Harry whispered something in her ear and her shoulders slumped. Thankfully, that would mean she would leave the matter alone. At least that's what Hermione thought. "I think you and Landon should live here."

"NO! Mumma I wan go home!" Hermione sighed and picked up the little boy who was now trying to climb into her lap. "I mit my woom."

Harry gave Ginny a look, which caused her to give Hermione an apologetic look. "I probably should have said that when Donny wasn't in the room."

"Mumma, we go home?" Hermione shook her head at her son.

"We can't go home right now, love. The nice men who work with Uncle Harry are making it nice and tidy again. Isn't that right, Uncle Harry?"

"That's right… and guess what? There might be even more toys in your room when you get back!" Donny seemed to cheer up at the sound of new toys. "I knew you'd like the sound of that."

"I weally get toys, mumma?" Hermione nodded and kissed her son's head before letting him go back to playing with James' Quidditch players.

"Ginny, thank you, and I might just take you up on that offer. I mean, certainly not forever, just until I can find a small place." Harry looked at her as if she was deranged. " Okay, Harry, why do you seem intent on looking at me like that?"

"I just didn't think you'd say yes… and I also didn't think you'd… you know, get _r-i-d_ of the house."

"I'm not… I own it. I just can't go back right now… It's too much for me." They both nodded, understanding what their friend was saying. "I'm thinking a place closer to the Ministry would be good."

"What are you going to do about…" Harry cut himself off before he said anything that might hurt his friend.

"… about Nathaniel's things?" He nodded and Hermione sighed. "I don't know, yet."

She wouldn't know how to explain to Donny why she had pictures of a strange man all over the house, especially when half of the pictures were of both of the boys together. She also didn't want to explain why his father wasn't around and why he couldn't remember him until she knew he was old enough to fully understand.

"I think you should put them in a closet or someplace where the little one can't get to them until you're ready for him to know." Ginny suggested. All Hermione could do was nod and run a hand down her face. "I'm sorry, Hermione."

"I know, but it isn't your fault any of this happened. I'm just… scared and worried."

* * *

><p>Draco had just gotten out of work, wondering why the hell Potter didn't bother to show up. He knew it probably had something to do with Granger. Thinking back on everything that he learned yesterday, he did actually feel bad for her. Nobody deserved to be hurt like that.<p>

He spent most of the night and all of the work day wondering who could possibly do this to her, to that little boy. At first, he was convinced that it couldn't have been a Death Eater, despite what the man… what _he_ said. Then he started thinking about it more and more. It was a sick thing to do to someone, something that hadn't in fact been done since Voldemort was alive. What if it was a Death Eater?

He had to admit that there were still a few out there, minor players in the war, but Death Eaters nonetheless. Draco nearly tore his brain apart trying to go through every name he ever heard around his father or around Voldemort himself, but when it came to someone doing something that evil, he couldn't believe it'd be someone that wasn't in Voldemort's immediate circle.

He tried to shake the thought out of his head as soon as it started to form, but it was too late. _No_, he thought to himself, _There is no way my father would risk his life over a muggle-born_. Draco was positive that his father cared more about keeping quiet than seeking revenge on Hermione Granger. Plus, he had convinced himself that his father did most of what he did because he was scared of how Voldemort would punish him.

No, it couldn't be his father and it couldn't be a Death Eater, it would just be too risky. So that left him back at zero. It had only been a day since he became a part of Granger's life again, but he was sure this time it was going to kill him.

Sighing, he walked down the street to a little muggle café that he never bothered to learn the name of. When he got in, he ordered an ordinary cup of coffee and took a seat at the back of the store. Draco pulled out his notes on the case and ran through them once more.

He still couldn't figure out if it was really him at Granger's house. He knew he could have easily been forced there by the Imperius curse and then Obliviated to forget the whole thing even happened, but why? What was the point of Granger thinking it was him?

_Because she hates you and it'd be easier to believe._

He suddenly felt sick to his stomach. Draco knew he had tormented that girl all through school and made her cry on more than one occasion but how could he possibly do anything like _that_ to her? He didn't hate her anymore, or even disliked her if he was being completely honest.

He closed his eyes and decided against going home. Instead, he put his work papers away and left the shop. Once he was outside, he walked into a secluded alley and Apparated just inside of the barriers of Grimmauld Place. Draco didn't know why he came here, but it seemed like the right thing to do.

Before he even got the chance to think about it being a mistake, Harry opened the door. "Malfoy… what are you doing here?"

"I… don't know, to be completely honest. Think I just didn't want to be home and figured we could talk some more about the case." Harry nodded but didn't move out of the way. "Aren't you going to let me in?"

"Hermione's here so I really don't think it'd be the best idea to let you in." Draco couldn't stop the heavy feeling on his chest. He had known Granger had probably stayed the night at the Potter's home and he had known that she would probably still be there.

"She still thinks I... did that, doesn't she?" Harry shrugged. "Don't do that shit, Potter."

"Look, Malfoy, I honestly don't know what Hermione is thinking. It's only been a day and it's all too fresh to her… to us all, actually. She'll eventually come around and realize that it wasn't you, but for now I think you should avoid seeing her as much as you can."

Draco didn't have an argument. He only sighed and Disapparated just outside of his home. He walked up the little stone pathway and with a flick of his wand, the grand, tall oak doors flung open.

Draco didn't know why he had such a big home when he was the only one who lived in it. When he bought it, he figured that it was better to be prepared in case he ever did happen to be so lucky. He soon found out that the only people who even wanted to be near him didn't want to be romantically involved with an ex-Death Eater.

Another flick of his wand and the doors shut, slowly. He sat down on the leather seat he usually sat in and ran a hand through his hair.

Draco didn't really understand why he was taking the Cooper case so seriously. He could counter that it was because they were using him to do their dirty work, but that wasn't it. He felt actually sympathy for his one-time enemy. He knew that if he had the chance to finally find someone to love him and had a beautiful child with them, he wouldn't want it torn away from him in the blink of an eye.

He also hated that every time she would look at him, she would see the face of her husband's killer. He couldn't stand that. Draco didn't know why, but he couldn't stand the thought of Granger hating him with everything she had.

The rational part of his brain told him that Granger was smart enough to see that he didn't really kill Nathaniel, but there was the irrational, irritating part of his brain that told him to panic.

He was so caught up with his own thoughts, he didn't notice the sound of the Floo and the person exiting the fireplace. "Malfoy."

His head snapped up and landed on a petite, red haired girl. "Ginny Potter, what are you doing here?"

"Harry told me you stopped by."

"That doesn't explain why you're in my home." She looked around, taking in the beauty of the sitting room.

"Quite a big place for someone who lives alone, Malfoy."

"Potter, I'd appreciate it if you answered my question."

"I just wanted to say that you should stay away from Hermione. I know you just want to help and it being your job, I don't have the right to interfere, but Hermione is my best friend and I don't think her seeing you will help her any."

"You just repeated what your husband _already_ told me." He rolled his eyes. "I know that I'm the last person Granger wants to see."

"Her last name isn't Granger anymore."

"I'm not calling her Cooper, that's just… barbaric." Ginny gave him a look, which he kindly returned.

"You can always call her by her actually name." Draco scoffed, he didn't know why but the idea of calling Granger anything other than Granger was revolting. "Look, Malfoy, I just came to say that you should stay away from her. That's all. I don't want to stand around and fight with you. So are you going to stay away?"

"How do you expect me to stay away from her if she's always going to be with Harry? Do you forget that apparently I'm a part of this whole thing, too? I'm going to be around her and I know it's going to be difficult for her, but if she wants to find out who murdered her husband, they're going to need me."

"And do you know anything about who killed Nathaniel?" She really hated to be so blunt about the subject, but there wasn't any other way to say it.

"Not yet, though I've been trying to go through every Death Eater name I know, but so far I'm coming up flat." Ginny nodded, scared to ask her next question, but she knew she had to.

"Could it have been… Could it have been your father?" Draco stiffened. He, of course, had thought the same thing, but knowing that he wasn't the only one suspecting his father was a bit unnerving.

"I've thought about that possibility, but I knew my father. He would do anything to save his own ass. He wouldn't risk being caught to go after Granger."

"So you feel that rules him out. The thing is, Draco, who would want to, not only, hurt Hermione, but bring you down in the process?"

"My father is many things, but he never hated me. He was disappointed in me, sure, but he didn't hate me. So yeah, I do think it would rule him out." Except at times Draco found himself doubting his own words. If his father didn't hate him, why didn't he try to speak to him after he left?

Then again, his mother had only spoken to him once, through a letter and even that had only told him about money and a better life. He didn't feel like his mother was guilty by any means, so why couldn't he shake his head of the thought that his father could have killed Nathaniel Cooper?

"Okay, if you think so, then I'll pass that along to Harry. Malfoy, if you must come over, please owl before you do so." Once he saw the green fire in his fireplace signaling him that Ginny was gone, he walked out of the room.

It was hard for Draco to think about his parents and their lack of a role in his adult life. It was true that he didn't really enjoy the way his parents had raised him, but they were his parents nonetheless. He wanted them to know that he was surviving after the war. He wanted them to at least care about what he was doing or how he felt.

Sighing, he took off his work clothes, deciding to take a shower to calm his nerves.

* * *

><p>Hermione was in the study when Ginny arrived back at Grimmauld Place. She looked at the red headed witch as she exited the green fire. "Where were you?"<p>

"Oh, I went to go talk to Malfoy." Hermione could feel her eyes growing wide. "Oh don't look at me like that. What did you expect me to do? Sit around and let everyone else do something important?"

"It's a Ministry case now, Gin. You shouldn't have gone over there. Not to mention that we don't even know if Malfoy is completely innocent."

"So you don't believe him?" Ginny knew that Hermione hated Draco, and for good reason, but she didn't think that he could be capable of murder.

"I don't know what to believe anymore, Ginny. My husband is dead and the only other person in my house that night was Draco. Now, I know perfectly well he could have been cursed or that it could have been someone else that took Polyjuice, but I can't exactly just give him benefit of the doubt." She didn't think that Draco was capable of murder, considering the fact that he could have killed Albus Dumbledore and didn't. That was also back when he had everything to lose if he didn't, but there was something in the back of her head that kept telling her not to let her guard down around him.

"I see… Well, do you want to know what we talked about?" Hermione nodded, urging her to continue. "I asked him not to come around the house anymore, considering you and Landon will be here."

"Ginny, you didn't have to do that. Besides, I'm going to be forced to see him either way."

"That's what he said, so I just told him that the next time he decides to come over, we'd like him to owl us beforehand."

"Wait, did he come over earlier?"

"Yeah, but Harry didn't let him in. That's not all I talked to him about, though." Hermione was still thinking about the fact that Malfoy actually had been there earlier. He was so close to them and she didn't even know, it made her feel uneasy. "Hermione? Are you listening?"

"Sorry, what were you saying?"

"I said that I talked to him about who he thought it could be."

"What did he say?" Hermione's gaze followed Ginny as she sat down across from her. "Well?"

"He said that he didn't know who it could be. I asked him if there was a possibility that it was his father." Hermione did everything she could to prevent the small gasp that came out of her mouth anyway. "He said he didn't think it was him but you could tell he didn't believe it."

"So you think Lucius killed Nathaniel? We haven't even heard a word about him in ages, Gin."

"Which is why it would make perfect sense!" She shook her head. She didn't agree with Ginny. If Lucius had been planning something, Harry would have been the first person to know about it. There would have been movement or some sort of proof.

"Lucius Malfoy is a coward who would rather hide forever than face the consequences of his actions in Azkaban. I don't believe for a second he would do that. Plus, why would he disguise himself as Draco?"

"Maybe he knows that he's been helping Harry catch Death Eaters and thinks it's only a matter of time before his son turns him in."

"I don't know, Gin. I just don't think Lucius would risk getting himself caught."

"I don't know, either, Hermione. I was just trying to help." Hermione smiled a little and nodded at her friend.

"I know you were and I appreciate it." She turned back to her book, but looked back up at the witch across from her. "Have you spoken to Harry about Nathaniel's… about his funeral?"

"It's in a couple of days… They wanted to know if you wanted him to wear something specific or if they could use one of the suits he had in his closet."

"I have one for him… I suppose I should go over and pick it out." Hermione had been dreading this. She had mentioned it before that she wasn't ready to go back into the house, but she knew that she had to.

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"No, I think I should go alone."

* * *

><p>The little house by the sea looked normal. It looked as if the family of three still lived there. Hermione felt that maybe if she opened the door, Landon would come rushing to her and she'd receive a kiss on the head from her husband. But she knew that wasn't possible.<p>

She knew that the moment she opened the front door, she would be faced with the reality that she didn't have a perfect little family anymore.

With a deep breath and all the will power she could muster up, she turned the knob and pushed open the wooden door. Everything looked the same and looked incredibly different. She saw the pictures on the walls, moved just slightly out of place. She noticed Landon's toys in the sitting room, pushed to the corner where he liked to play.

She turned away, tears in her eyes and kept walking through the house until she reached Landon's room. The door had been fixed, but she could see that night's events playing in her head like a loop. She pressed her palm against the door frame and felt the darkness of what happened.

Quickly, she rushed out of the room and toward her bedroom. It took all of her energy to push open the door. The bed was made, there was light from the sunset pouring in through the window. There wasn't a single disturbance in the room. She closed her eyes and imagined Nathaniel's arms slipping around her from behind, placing a kiss on her shoulder and telling her everything would be alright.

"I hope so."

She sank to the floor, letting out all of her emotions, choking sobs escaping from her mouth. This was it, the moment she realized she was never going to hold, speak to, smell, or hear her husband ever again. She was never going to see him cuddling with Landon in bed. She wasn't ever going to hear his laugh when she told him about the cute things Landon had done that day.

Slowly, she felt everything slipping out of her reach and she couldn't hold on to save her life. Hermione felt helpless. She knew that no matter what she would do, she would never be able to save Nathaniel. She would never be able to bring Landon's father back.

Closing her eyes, she let herself cry until she felt her body relax. Hermione pulled herself up and took herself to the bed, taking Nathaniel's pillow and pulling it close to her. It still smelled of him and it made her heart skip a beat. She closed her eyes again and let the smell pull her away into a deep sleep.

When she opened her eyes, she saw the room was dark and she realized she had been here longer than intended. Hermione pulled out her wand and with a quick "_Lumos", _she got up from the bed.

She walked over to the closet and nearly dropped her wand when she heard three sharp taps against the bedroom door. "Granger?"

* * *

><p><strong>an: **I know this took a while and I'm deeply sorry. I've been pretty busy with family issues, but I am back and I should be posting faster. I tried to make this chapter longer, but it's not as long as I would've liked.

I also would like to thank those of you who reviewed the last chapter, it makes me so happy to see your enthusiasm! It would mean a lot if you continue to leave reviews so I know if you enjoy the story or not! Feedback of all kinds are welcome. Thank you again.


	4. It's About A Dream

"Granger?"

Hermione turned around, cringing at the sound of her maiden name. It had been a while since she had heard anyone call her Granger. This, of course, was due to the fact that the only person who ever truly called her Granger was Draco Malfoy.

Her heart was beating loudly; she could hear it like echoes in her ears. What was Malfoy doing in her home? Was it even the real Draco? She shouldn't have come alone. "Granger, is that you?"

"Don't call me that." She didn't mean for that to slip out, even if it was barely even a whisper.

Draco's mind was racing. When he had come to the Cooper's home, he thought he'd be alone. He had spent an hour debating with himself if he should come or not, but the need to know if it had really been him that night was consuming him.

He didn't expect for Hermione to be there. "Sorry."

She glanced back at the door, debating if she should open the door or not. What was he doing in her home anyway? "Did you need something?"

He shuffled his feet. He hadn't needed anything physical and he had already done what he had come here to do. "No, I came here… Well, I came here to see if I was the one that… was there that night."

Hermione held her breath. She didn't know what she was waiting for, exactly. Was she waiting for him to say that he remembered everything and that it was him? Was she waiting for him to bust the door down, smirk and tell her he'd do it over again if he could? She didn't know.

"Gr-Hermione, are you alright?" No. She wasn't alright. Draco felt like hitting himself upside the head for asking such a stupid question. How could she possibly be alright?

"I'm going to open the door." He moved away from the door. He didn't know why, but he felt that he needed to give her as much space as he could. _'You're in her home, idiot. You're already invading her space.'_

She opened the door and saw him. He looked the same as he did the last time she saw him in Harry's office. He was standing up against the wall, clutching something in his hands.

Draco noticed her look down and suddenly became aware that he was holding something. When he had stepped into the room, Landon's room, he saw that everything had been put in its place. Or at least it looked like it had. He had noticed a couple of books near an old chair that looked like they had been read the most and picked them up to give to Harry. _'Maybe they can help Granger and the boy sleep,'_ he had thought to himself.

He moved them into view and her expression changed from confusion to anger. "Why do you have those?"

She ripped them out of his hands before he got a chance to explain or hand them to her. He didn't even have time to breathe when her wand was drawn up to his neck. "Hermione."

"Don't think I won't hurt you, Malfoy. What were you doing in my son's room? Going through his things?" He had been in a similar position, once. The main difference now was that Hermione had every incentive to kill him and it seemed that she was going to do just that.

"I already told you why I was in there. I only saw them and thought you might like to have them back." Her wand dug itself deeper into his neck and it took everything in him not to push her back.

Hermione wanted to hit him. She wanted to slap him, curse him, kill him. She didn't know why she wanted to hurt him. It wasn't actually him that killed Nathaniel and he was only here trying to confirm that.

But there was something in the way he held the books. Something in the way he was touching something special to her that bothered her beyond belief. He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't be holding the books that belonged to her family. That was too personal.

She held the books closer to her, as close as they could be without the corners of the books digging into her stomach. He tried looking into her eyes, to plead that he wasn't doing any of this to hurt her, but she just looked away.

Eventually, she pulled her wand away. Draco was relieved. He knew he needed to leave. To get out and leave her alone, but he couldn't. She was crying now, still holding the books; her wand sitting limply in her hand. She looked pathetic. No. Not pathetic. She looked broken and it nearly broke him.

Draco didn't know why he felt this way. He knew he should feel sad and worried, but seeing her like this almost broke his heart. "I can go if you want me to."

She didn't say anything. She didn't move. The only movements she made were the shaking of her shoulders caused by her soundless sobs. He moved a bit closer to her, reaching out to touch her arm. "Granger?"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT." Before he knew what was happening, he was being thrown to the other end of the hallway. Her wand fell from her hands as she released a gasping sob. "Shit, Malfoy. I'm sorry."

He looked at her incredulously. He was the one who was sorry. He shouldn't have come to her house, he shouldn't have touched her things and he definitely shouldn't have touched her. Draco deserved whatever hex she had cast at him. He probably deserved more than that, but he definitely did NOT deserve an apology from Hermione. "Don't."

She ran to his side, kneeling beside him. "No, I am. I shouldn't have done that."

He laughed, but it sounded strangled. His whole body hurt. What _did_ she curse him with? "It's fine. I deserved it. Seriously."

She didn't back off. Instead, she pocketed her wand and put the books down. Hermione was confused as to why she was helping Malfoy or apologizing to him. He was right when he said that he had deserved it. Maybe not now, but in the past he had done some really stupid and mean things.

"What was that, anyway?" He said when he had sat up. Hermione shrugged. She didn't know what that was and it scared her. "What do you mean by that?"

He imitated her shrug, which caused her to shrug again. "It just happened. I'm pretty sure I wasn't thinking about anything but hurting you."

"So you could have killed me just as easily."

"If I really wanted to; yes, probably." She frowned. She didn't like the idea of being able to take someone's life. She, in fact, hated the idea that she could stoop as low as whoever killed Nathaniel. "I didn't want to."

Hermione hated the way Draco looked at her. She wished he'd just get up and leave so she could get back to what she really needed to do. Plus, Harry was probably worrying about her and if she didn't get back soon, he'd probably come himself. She didn't need him seeing her with Malfoy.

"I should probably go." Hermione only nodded and moved out of the way so Draco could have more room to get up. When he was at the door, he looked back at her, wearing the same sad look on his face that made Hermione want to punch him. "I'm sorry about tonight. I'm sorry about the other night, too. We'll figure out who do this and if it was me… Well, I'm sorry."

Now it was her turn to pity him. She knew it wasn't him, not truly, anyway. Yet, here he was, desperately trying to figure out if he was capable of something so harsh. It looked like it was going to eat him alive; like it already had started. In that moment she learned more about Draco than she had ever learned before.

All Hermione could do was nod, then he was out the door.

The wind felt nice against Draco's skin. It was comforting. Whatever happened in there was still playing in a loop in his mind, but at least for now the wind felt nice.

Draco didn't know how to feel about Hermione. He didn't know how to process what had just happened. They had connected in a way, he wasn't sure how or even why, but he was sure that they did. The way she looked at him before he left, he was sure she had seen more of him than anyone else ever had. She had understood more about him than anyone.

Maybe he was being completely demented. Maybe all she did was pity him, but that was still something to him. He'd take her pity. He'd take anything she had to offer.

He shook his head. _What was he thinking? _She didn't have anything to offer him. How could she? She was possibly more broken than he was. She had just lost her husband. Draco was an idiot; the biggest idiot in the history of the world, muggles and wizards, alike.

Hermione was still inside, staring at the front door. She could only think of one thing; Draco's eyes. It sounded stupid and it was. She hated herself for it. She rushed back to the room and surrounded herself with Nathaniel's smell. It was suffocating, but in a way that she more than welcomed.

She found her way into the closet and pulled out the suit that Nathaniel wore on their wedding day, the only suit he happened to own. Walking back into the main room, she put it on the bed and smoothed it out. Seeing it laid out on the bed, and knowing why she was looking at it again, was overwhelming.

She didn't let herself fall apart this time. She couldn't. She had to stay strong. Crying and becoming a shell of a person wasn't going to bring her husband back and she knew that. Hermione picked the suit back up and walked out of the house to find that Draco was still standing there.

There had been something she wanted to say to him, but she just walked past him and Apparated back to Grimmauld Place.

Harry had been waiting for her. "What took you so long?"

He looked tired and his hair was even more disheveled than usual. Hermione felt bad for making him worry, but she really felt that tonight needed to happen. "I fell asleep."

Harry nodded and pulled her into a hug. Hermione normally would have melted into it, but she still had the suit and Draco in her mind, pulling her away. If she didn't excuse herself now, Harry would know something was wrong. Or maybe he would just think her attitude was because she had been back at the house. Hermione hoped for the latter. "You're okay, right?"

"Yeah, I mean, as okay as I can be." He nodded and gave her a sympathetic smile. She pulled further away from his hug and handed him the suit. "Here, take it. I don't think I can keep it any longer."

Harry took the suit and placed it on the chair he was sitting on before Hermione came. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm positive. Did Landon go to bed?"

"Yeah, he did." She nodded and made her way to the door. "Hermione, you'll talk to me if you need to, right? You won't shut yourself off?"

"Of course, Harry." Then she was out of the room, up the stairs and in her room.

She felt bad for keeping what happened tonight a secret from Harry and if Draco decided to tell him what had happened, he'd probably be really disappointed in her. She just couldn't bring herself to tell him how she had lashed out. Hermione also thought that it wouldn't be a good idea to tell Harry that Draco had snuck into her home without permission.

The whole situation confused Hermione. She understood why Draco was there, but why hadn't he left when he had realized she had been there? Why had he gone to make sure she was okay? _And why_ would he just let her take her anger out on him?

Harry had told Hermione that Draco wasn't the same person she had known in Hogwarts and she trusted Harry, but this was far beyond that. This was a completely different person. She didn't see a trace of the old Draco. It made her feel like complete and utter shit just thinking about it.

She had hurt him when she knew that he was already hurting. Sure, she could reason that it was her house and she was hurting more than he was, but she realized that she really couldn't. Draco was scared. He was scared that he was still evil; that he never really changed. He was also alone. She had known that much from Harry. His parents were in hiding. They didn't care what happened to him.

Hermione at least had her son. She at least had friends that would take care of her; that would make sure she wouldn't fall apart.

She tried forcing him out of her mind by telling herself that she had more important things to worry about, which she did, but with no luck. Draco was the last thought on her mind when she went to sleep.

* * *

><p>Draco was still standing on the porch of Hermione's home when he saw someone Apparate in the distance. It wasn't until the figure was about five feet in front of him that he realized it was Harry. <em>Great<em>. Just what he needed.

"Malfoy?" So, Hermione hadn't told Potter about what happened. Draco was in shock. He didn't know what to say.

"Potter." Harry was just as confused as Draco was. When he decided to come to the house, it was only to make sure that everything was okay. Hermione had seemed a bit off when she'd come back to his house He had no idea that it had anything to do with Draco.

"What are you doing here?" Draco shrugged. He could have explained to Harry why he had come, but after finding nothing, he didn't feel the need to. "You shouldn't be here."

"It's alright. It's been relatively quiet."

"That's not what I meant, but that's another thing. You shouldn't be here, it isn't safe." Draco rolled his eyes.

"And sending Gr-Hermione here alone was perfectly safe?"

Harry didn't know what to say. He hadn't known Hermione had left until after the fact. He spent a great deal of time yelling at Ginny about how dumb of an idea it was. Ginny only shrugged and said, "It's what she wanted."

Harry was also confused as to why Hermione hadn't told him that she had run into Malfoy. Was that why she was acting so distant? What had happened? What did he do?

"What happened?"

Draco looked Harry over before answering, "What do you mean?"

"I mean when Hermione came back to the house, she was distant."

"I don't know. We talked, but it wasn't anything bad. Maybe it had something to do with why she was here in the first place." Harry hadn't thought about that. Hermione had come to get something for Nathaniel's funeral. That was hard on her; she let him know as much, but there was still something off.

"What did you two talk about?"

"Merlin, Potter, if you want to know so much; you can ask her." Draco stepped off the porch and into the dry grass. "I'm going to home. It's late and I'd rather be asleep."

He Apparated back to his home and didn't even bother getting undressed before slipping into his bed. The whole night was a jumbled mess in his head and he wanted nothing but to forget it ever happened.

But there she was; kneeling besides him, whispering that she was sorry, looking at him as if she was the one who had truly hurt him. He couldn't get the look on her face out of his head. His heart started beating a little bit faster when he thought about it.

_Hermione_. _Who would have thought?_

No. Draco shook his head, viciously, as if it were going to really clear his mind of the thoughts. How could he even be thinking _that?_

He took a deep, shaky breath and pulled a pillow over his head. This couldn't be happening. Why did it have to be her? Why did it have to be now?

He was pathetic; he knew it. This whole situation only proved it. One fucking look and he had fallen in love with Hermione Granger. **_NO_**. Hermione **_Cooper_**.

Absolutely. Pathetic.

* * *

><p>Hermione woke up that morning feeling sore and stiff. She hardly wanted to get up from bed, but there was a little boy pulling at her toes, chanting, "Mumma! Mumma!"<p>

She pulled him up on the bed and he wrapped his arms around her. She embraced the hug and pulled him closer to her. Hermione felt horrible and the little boy hugging her only confirmed the fact that she should feel horrible.

That night, all Hermione could dream about was Draco Malfoy. He was there and taunting her every chance he could. She kept telling him that she didn't want him in her dreams and all he would do is smirk, as if he knew something she didn't. Maybe he did.

Looking down at Landon, she realized that there was no possible way for her to think of Draco as anything right now. He wasn't a friend, enemy, acquaintance. The only thing he could be was someone who had something to do with the murder of her husband.

Her _husband_. Her heart stopped when she called him that, because in reality he wasn't anything except a memory anymore. Hermione hated herself for thinking that way, but she couldn't help it. She needed to be able to see him as a memory, because if she just saw him as her husband, she'd be tricking herself into thinking that he might just come back.

Hermione needed to be practical and the most practical thing she could think of was to take care of their son, without breaking down. She needed to be there for him and if that meant thinking of Nathaniel as someone from her past, she would deal with it. She would deal with anything for Landon, because right now he needed Hermione. He needed a mother who wouldn't rather spend a day in bed than be with him. She needed herself to be that mother for him.

Of course, the irony was that, if anything, Landon would be the one to take care of her. He'd been the one to pull her together, so far. The strong façade she had been able to put on was solely for him and eventually it wouldn't have to be a façade. Nobody wanted to see her miserable forever. Nathaniel would have hated it if she was miserable forever.

_'__Nathaniel would have hated it if you were dreaming of the man that killed him two nights after he died in anything but an unpleasant manner' _Hermione frowned. She didn't want anything from Draco. All she wanted from him was help. She did admit that maybe something happened last night, but that was only something that had to do with how she saw him as a person. It wasn't anything romantic.

Hermione couldn't understand why her brain was making such a big fuss over it. It was just a look. Plus, she was now a _widow_. She cringed at the word.

"Mumma, I hungry." She snapped away from her thoughts and focused at the little boy. Hermione smiled and got up, making sure the boy was secure in her arms.

"Well then, let's go find out what we can eat, love." Landon rested his head on Hermione's shoulder while she walked downstairs and into the kitchen. She wasn't surprised to see that Mrs. Weasley was here again, hustling about the kitchen.

"Ah, morning! Sit down you two, I'm making breakfast." Hermione sat down, placing Landon in her lap. She appreciated Mrs. Weasley this morning. She didn't think she could cook, in her state of mind, if her life depended on it.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley."

"I'll hear none of that. I do what I do because you're family to me, not because I require thanks. And please, Hermione, call me Molly or mum. Anything but Mrs. Weasley; it's too formal for us." Hermione nodded and smiled at Mrs. Weasley. Over the years, Hermione had begun to think of her as a second mother, but never really expressed it much. "Speaking of mothers, your mum will be arriving shortly."

"My mother is coming?" Hermione had completely forgotten about her parents and it made her feel terrible. How could she not think to tell them?

"Harry called them last night while you were out and explained to them what happened. Don't feel too bad about not telling them, love. They understand why you forgot." Did they?

"Well I'm glad they're coming and I'm kind of glad they know. It saves me the trouble of having to remember." Landon looked at his mum then back at Mrs. Weasley, not understanding what they were talking about. He was about to ask when Mrs. Weasley put a plate of scrambled eggs in front of his mum.

"Feed him and then I'll make you something to eat." Hermione picked up the spoon and started to feed her son. He was a messy eater and had managed to make a mess with the eggs. She smiled down at her son while she wiped the eggs off of his face. Landon smiled up at her; a smile that warmed her heart. She needed that smile.

"I go pway mumma?" She set him down on the floor and as soon as he heard the yes, he rushed into the sitting room and started playing with James' toys.

"He's really special; reminds me of Fred." Hermione turned to see Mrs. Weasley smiling sadly. "George was always truly the mischievous one when they were children. Fred just loved following George around and helping him. Loved the fact that he could do whatever he wanted because I'd never get angry with him. Of course, as they grew up they both started taking equal parts in their hijinks."

Mrs. Weasley wiped a tear from her face and smiled wider. "You'll never stop missing him."

"No, wouldn't want to if I could, which I can, but like I said, I wouldn't want to. I think when you lose someone you truly love, a part of you dies with them. That's all you should allow them to take. Miss them, yes, but don't stop living because of them." Hermione understood what Mrs. Weasley had told her and she was going to do her best to live by it.

"I miss him, a lot. I just don't understand why this all happened. I thought it was all over."

"We all thought it was over." Hermione wanted to cry. She felt that she needed that one last cry, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. It wasn't that she was over Nathaniel; that was far from the truth, but she couldn't help but feel tired of crying.

"What am I going to do?" That seemed to be a question she was asking a lot lately. It was a question that had not yet been answered and it was one that she couldn't even begin to think of an answer to.

"You're going to live." She wished it was as easy as she made it sound.

After Hermione ate her breakfast, she moved into the sitting room and watched Landon play with James. Harry had tried talking to her, but left it alone when she looked away. He knew that she wasn't ready to talk about anything that happened last night and he was going to respect that; especially, when it had something to do with Malfoy.

He tried thinking about why Malfoy had been at Hermione's house last night and what they had talked about, but he didn't want to upset Hermione. She looked better than she did the past two days and he was grateful for that, but something else was going on and it was bothering him.

Harry contemplated pulling Hermione aside and asking her, but decided that it wasn't a good idea to ruin whatever mood she was in. There would always be time to ask her.

Hermione noticed that Harry looked a bit uneasy and wondered if it had anything to do with how she acted last night. She smiled at him and he seemed to relax, but the hard look on his face didn't go away. "Harry, what's wrong?"

He looked puzzled, but shook his head. "Nothing is wrong… with me, anyway. Worried about you."

She had known that she was probably the reason for his behavior, but she had asked anyway. "Don't worry about me. The worst has happened. We'll be more aware this time around."

"I'm not worried about what's going to happen. I'm worried about what has happened." Right when she was about to talk, he held up a hand. "Why didn't you tell me you saw Malfoy last night?"

Her words caught in her throat. How had he known she'd run into Malfoy last night? Was she talking in her sleep? "How did y-"

"I went to the house last night after you came back. You were acting distant and I wanted to make sure everything was alright. He was standing on the porch." She wanted to be angry, but she knew that she couldn't. It wouldn't even be reasonable for her to take her anger out on Harry.

"It wasn't a big deal. He was going inside as I was leaving." Hermione didn't know why she was lying. Maybe she was trying to protect Draco. Maybe she didn't want Harry knowing that Draco was doubting himself.

Harry didn't understand why she was keeping secrets from him. Malfoy had told him that they had talked, but Hermione was going to tell him that unless he asked. "Did he say anything?"

"No. Not really. I think Ginny scared him off." He nodded, but he was still confused. Why did Hermione need to keep secrets from him? "Don't you have to get to work?"

Harry sighed and got up, "Yeah, I suppose I'll see you later."

* * *

><p>Draco got ready for work and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked tired. He was tired. He had hardly gotten a wink of sleep last night.<p>

All he could think about was Hermione. It was going to drive him insane. "You need to get yourself together."

In his dreams, he could hear her laughing. He could see her smiling and above all, it was directed solely at him. He didn't remember the last time he heard her laugh or had seen her smile, but he had known for certain that it had never been directed at him.

It made him want to scream. How could he have let her under his skin? And if it all had to have happened, if his destiny was to fall in love with Hermione; why did it have to be now?

He always knew he wasn't a decent person, but to fall in love with someone right after their husband died? Draco had reached a new level of 'idiot'.

Was he even falling in love with Hermione? Was this what love felt like? It seemed like it would be too soon to consider it love, but then he thought about her laugh and he had to fight the smile from appearing on his face.

He decided that being run over by a muggle car would be less painful than dealing with whatever this was.

When Draco got to work, he saw Potter in his office and walked past the door quickly so he wouldn't be seen. He didn't want to talk about everything that had happened last night. He didn't want to talk about Hermione with Potter and he definitely didn't want Potter to realize how he felt about her.

He'd probably hex Draco into the next century and Draco would probably let him.

_How could he be in love with her? _

Draco put his briefcase down on his desk and sat down in the big, comfortable chair across from his own work chair. He had always wondered why they didn't get work chairs as comfortable as these, but never mentioned it out loud.

_Granger_.

No, he had to stop thinking about her and he _had_ to stop calling her Granger. If he had known that one look could have done him in, he would have avoided her. He still would. He would avoid her as much as he could and not talk to Harry unless he had to.

He could forget about that night. He had to forget about that night.

Draco hid in his office until lunch time. He figured that he could hide away all day if he could just get through lunch, but there was the knock on his door signaling that he couldn't hide forever.

He opened the door to let Harry in.

"You've been avoiding me and Hermione lied to me. What the hell happened last night?"

Hermione had lied to Potter? Why? "She lied about what?"

"About last night."

"Obviously; but, what did she say?" Harry raised his eyebrow and shot a curious look in Malfoy's direction. What exactly was going on between the two?

Had it been any other circumstance, Harry would have thought they had slept together or something equally as bad, but he knew Hermione wouldn't do that. She wouldn't see Malfoy behind his back. She wouldn't see Malfoy in general. She definitely wouldn't be seeing him _now_. "She said that she was leaving when you arrived. You said you two talked."

Draco mentally cursed himself for telling Potter anything. Now he was going to start thinking something was going on, which there definitely wasn't anything going on between him and Hermione. "We did talk. She asked me what I was doing there. I told her it was part of the investigation and she left. Nothing more than that."

Harry didn't believe him. Instead of worrying about it, he went to leave the room. Stopping at the door, he turned back and asked Draco if he was going to get lunch. Draco nodded, took his coat and followed Harry out of the room.

The trip to the diner was a quiet one and Draco couldn't be more grateful. The last thing he needed was another chance to embarrass himself.

Harry sat down in a booth across from Draco and ordered something random off the menu. When the waitress took both of their orders, Harry turned to Draco. "What's going on with you and Hermione?"

Draco could feel the blood draining from his face. "Nothing."

Harry wasn't convinced and that's what worried him the most. "It's not nothing, obviously."

"It _is_ nothing, Potter. I suggest you drop it." He hadn't expected the words to come out the way they did; with such malice.

Harry didn't say anything for the rest of lunch.

* * *

><p>Harry had gotten home late and it caused Ginny to stress. Hermione sat down in her room and decided that the best thing to do was to pretend she was asleep.<p>

She didn't want to face Harry after she had lied to him this morning. She still felt horrible about it and if she could, she would take it back and just tell him the truth.

Except, she didn't like the truth; she hated it. She hated that she had dreamt about Malfoy and his eyes. She hated that she felt anything short of hatred toward the man, but here she was hiding from it all.

What type of person was she? How could she honestly be feeling this way just after losing her husband?

And exactly what way _was_ she feeling?

* * *

><p><strong>an : **I am incredibly sorry for how bad this chapter might be and how late I posted it. I had a few things come up and then I was out of town seeing One Direction (which was great btw). I just wanted to be able to post something. I promise I'm already working on the next chapter and it'll be a lot better, I hope.

Don't forget to review (any type of criticism is good for me) and favorite. If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them for you!


	5. A Hard Choice

Hermione sat down on her bed, not caring that she was wrinkling her dress. She was grateful that Ginny offered to help get Landon dressed, though the toddler wouldn't know why he was getting dressed up.

Today was the day of Nathaniel's funeral and Hermione didn't know if she could handle going. She knew she had to be there, but as the time drew nearer, she realized that this was going to be more difficult than anything she ever had to do.

The door opened and Harry entered, wearing a black suit and a single white rose on his lapel. He smiled solemnly at her as he walked to her bed and sat down next to her. "I know this is going to be hard for you."

She tried hard to stop a tear from falling. Everything was becoming all too real. She thought on multiple separate occasions that that was the moment she realized he was gone, but it wasn't until today when she woke up feeling as if she had the whole world on her chest that she understood; it was today. Today she was officially losing Nathaniel. Today was the last day she would ever see him.

Harry pulled her into him and rubbed her shoulder. "If you need Ginny or mum to stay to watch Landon, you know they will."

Hermione had almost forgotten about her son's memory, or lack thereof, of his father. What would all of this do to Landon? How would he feel about seeing his mother break down over someone he thought he never met before? But Hermione wouldn't feel right not letting him go. "I don't know."

"It's okay either way. Whatever decision you make, no one will blame you for it." She didn't believe that. If she didn't let Landon go and if he ever got his memories back, he would never forgive her. He would always blame her for not letting him be there. She would probably blame herself, too.

"Harry, I have to take him." The decision was a lot easier said than done, but she felt that it was what was best for her and her son.

He nodded and got up. "Then I think I should inform you that it's time to go."

* * *

><p>Sitting down during the funeral had been pure hell for Hermione. She kept wanting to get up and jump into the white marble casket. It sounded completely insane, but she wasn't ready to say goodbye.<p>

Of course, she had gotten the chance to go up and say her goodbyes, but she couldn't go through with it. Instead, she just stood there, willing herself not to break down in front of Landon. Harry had been right behind her, holding Landon in his arms.

"Who is dat, Unca Hawwy?" That had only made Hermione's heart break. She fell down to the floor and let out heart wrenching sobs. Ginny quickly came up and took Landon, who was now crying out for his mum, back to the seats. Harry put his arms around Hermione's shoulders and pulled her up. She collapsed into his chest.

"Why? Why him, Harry?" She repeated this about three more times before turning back to the casket, letting out another sob. "I'm so sorry, Nathaniel. I'm so damn sorry. It's all my fault this happened."

"Hermione-"

She ignored Harry. "I shouldn't have pretended things were okay. I should have listened to you. I should have _protected_ you. I let our family get ripped apart and now I'm just sitting around all day, doing nothing!_ I can't even find who did this to you._"

She was breaking down in front of everyone, finally letting out every single thought she had about that night. She didn't care what people thought about her. All she cared about was apologizing for everything. "You must hate me. _I hate me_. I shouldn't have agreed to marry you. I knew the risks of being me. I knew that marrying you would make you a target and I was just too selfish."

"Hermione, I thi-"

"NO, Harry." She shot him a glare and then focused back on the peaceful face of her late husband. "If you had married someone else, you would still be alive. I wish I could go back and tell myself to think about you instead of myself.

"There are so many things I did wrong. I could have not talked to you that day. I could have declined your dinner invitation. I could have told you that it wasn't working out. I could have let you use magic regularly. I could have accepted your proposal to move back to London. I could have done so much to prevent this and I didn't. For that I am so sorry and I don't think I'll ever stop being sorry."

She bent down and placed one last kiss on his lips. She did her best not to cringe when she felt how cold he was. She gasped for breath. She allowed Harry to lead her back to the seat she was sitting in now. Landon snuck into her lap and she held onto him for dear life, kissing his head every ten minutes or so.

When Nathaniel's dad finished talking, Hermione got up, still holding a now sleeping Landon, and went up to where he was just standing.

"Hello, thank you all for coming. It would have meant a lot to Nathaniel to know how many people loved him." She smiled a little. "I honestly don't know what to say that you don't already know. Nathaniel was just so amazing. He was an amazing husband and an amazing father. He would and did do everything he could to protect us.

There are so many things I can say about Nathaniel. I could tell you that every time our son would have a nightmare, he'd be in his room, holding him until he fell asleep again. I could also tell you that if Landon wanted to play early in the morning, Nathaniel would be there. Sometimes, I'd wake up and catch them fast asleep on the floor because they stayed up playing or watching muggle cartoons." She felt her heart twist and it was suddenly hard for her to breath. Hermione stood up taller, took a deep breath and continued, "I have never been more thankful for having him in my life. He made me happy again when I thought all hope was lost. He brought that out in people. You couldn't help but be happy when he was around. Nathaniel was the best thing to have ever happened to me and Landon. I will always love him."

There was so much more that Hermione wanted to say. She wanted to talk about the day she met him. She wanted to talk about how excited he was on the day Landon was born. She wanted to tell everyone about how much of a greater person he was, but it was too hard.

Hermione was crying again. She really was blessed to have Harry and Ginny in her life. Ginny took Landon from her arms and walked back to the seats. Harry pulled Hermione into him and let her cry into his chest.

From far away, Draco felt his chest tighten. He didn't know why he had come, but here he was, hiding away from the crowd.

Seeing Hermione break down that way left him feeling guilty beyond words. He should be the one feeling those things. She didn't deserve that type of hurt. She only ever tried to do the good and right thing and now she was stuck paying the price.

Draco felt sick. Whoever did this, planned for all of this to happen. They wanted her to hurt worse than death. They wanted her to feel detached from the world and he was scared that they were going to win.

He wouldn't allow that to happen. He would do everything he could to make sure that whatever they were planning, would fail. Draco Malfoy had never been so serious about anything in his entire life.

* * *

><p>When the funeral ended, Hermione had gone straight to bed. Harry was worried about his friend, but decided that the worst thing for him to do right now would be to confront her.<p>

Ginny came back downstairs after putting Landon and James to bed and sat down next to him on the couch. It had been a really long day for all of them. She looked up at him and let a few tears fall down her cheeks. Harry automatically went to wipe them away. "Today has been tough on everyone."

"I just kept imagining myself in her shoes. I know it's selfish to think of myself when Hermione needed us, but I couldn't help it, Harry. I kept thinking about what I'd do if it were you in there." Harry pulled her in closer and kissed her head. "It could have been you."

"I know, Gin, but you shouldn't think like that. I swear that won't happen to us or to Hermione ever again. We're going to find whoever did this and we're going to kill him." Harry hadn't realized just how angry he had been with the situation. Someone had targeted his best friend and left her defenseless. They had left her feeling weak. They stripped her of everything she worked so hard for and Harry was going to make them pay.

Ginny had only seen Harry this determined once before, but it had been years ago. She was worried that Harry would find whoever did this and rush into a battle she wasn't sure he was ready for. The last time he had that look was when he was battling Voldemort and wouldn't let anyone else help him. She had been terrified that last time too.

Sure, Harry won last time, but they had years to prepare. He had had years of getting to know as much as he could about Voldemort and had spent months making him as weak as possible. They knew absolutely nothing about whoever hurt Hermione. If Harry just went after him, he could seriously get hurt and Ginny would hate for something to happen to him.

She couldn't stop herself from feeling horrible at how selfish she was being, but she couldn't deny the fact that if she had her way, Harry would forget about running off to find a murderer.

Ginny must have been quiet longer than she thought because Harry was giving her a worried look. "What are you thinking about?"

She bit her lip, wondering if she should really tell Harry what she was thinking or if it would be better to just keep her thoughts to herself. "Nothing, I'm just worried about Hermione."

Neither of them had noticed the weary looking witch standing at the doorway until she spoke, "You don't have to worry about me. I think I'll be fine."

"Hermione, you know we're going to worry either way."

"I know, but I just want to let you guys know that I'll be fine. We just need to focus on it not happening again." Harry let go of Ginny and was about to get up to go hug Hermione, when she held her hand up to stop him. "I'm thinking of finding an apartment near the Ministry. It'd be the best thing for everyone."

"Are you sure? You're welcome here for as long as you need." Hermione had thought about this since she got back from the funeral. She knew that she couldn't continue living with Harry and Ginny, but she didn't know how the two would react to her deciding to leave.

"I'm positive… and I also think we should talk to Malfoy." Hermione was just as surprised by what she was saying as Harry was. "I mean, I know you wanted him to stay away as much as possible, but I've been thinking. Whoever did this was under the disguise of Malfoy... Wouldn't it be better for us to know where he is?"

She wanted to hit herself in the head once she said it out loud. She knew that two people in front of her would be against the idea of letting Malfoy get closer than he already was. Harry was looking at her as if she was a puzzle he had to solve and Ginny just had her mouth agape.

Ginny was the first one to break the silence. "Hermione, I don't think that's a good idea. Malfoy is obviously connected to this in some way. We're not sure if it's good or bad yet."

"I understand that, but really what else are we going to be doing? Sitting around all day, waiting for him to come back and kill someone else?"

Harry got up. "That isn't fair, Hermione. We're trying our best to find out who did this."

"I know that, Harry, I do, but what else can we do? Malfoy is our only option." She was looking at them, pleading that they at least thought about what she had to say. "You might think I'm crazy and maybe I am, but seeing him today was my breaking point. I can't just sit around waiting for everything to come to me. I have to do something."

Harry relaxed and sat back down. "You know that I'll support you with whatever you decide to do, but Hermione you have to be careful. You have a son to think about."

"I know and I will be careful. Now I only have one more favor to ask of you." Harry nodded for her to continue. "Can you come with me to see this apartment? I saw an ad for it in the muggle newspaper."

* * *

><p>When Draco got home, he was about ready to go to bed. After the funeral, he had gone to Diagon Alley to get a few books and supplies. He wanted to make sure he'd have what he needed in case anything happened.<p>

Draco took time to put everything away, except for the three books he bought. _Magical Mysteries; Seven Stories of Real Incidents That Haven't Been Solved_,_ Memory Loss and How to Deal With It_, and _How to Be Prepared in Case of a Magical Emergency. _Draco had felt embarrassed buying the books, but he didn't dare put them back. He would read anything he had to in case it helped him help Hermione.

He didn't know why it mattered to him so much. He could always say that it was because he didn't like being framed for something that he didn't do, but that wasn't it. There was something else, but he knows that it's better if he doesn't try to find out what it is.

Just when Draco was about to sit down, the doorbell rang. He didn't even remember the last time someone used his doorbell. Reluctantly, he got up and went to answer the door.

He didn't know what was more shocking; seeing old his friend from Hogwarts for the first time in nearly four years or the fact that he didn't shut the door in his face. "Zabini?"

"Malfoy, it's been a while." Blaise didn't look too thrilled and Draco couldn't help but feel the same way.

It had been years since Draco had last seen Blaise and it wasn't in the best circumstances. They had been drinking at a pub and Draco had let it slip that the Ministry was still looking for Death Eaters. Blaise thought it was a bad idea to get mixed up into all of that good/bad shit again, but Draco wouldn't listen. It then became a heated argument and Blaise said a few things concerning Draco's parents that he couldn't forgive.

"What are you doing here?" Draco said rather coolly, causing Blaise to sigh.

"An owl delivered a package for you to my place. I thought you might want it." He held out a small box. Draco looked at him quizzically and took the box from Zabini's outstretched hand. "I also thought we could talk."

Draco nodded and moved out of the doorway to allow Blaise to step in. He really didn't care to talk when he was so interested in what was inside the little box. He closed the door, put the box inside his pocket and made his way into the sitting room. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I think I owe you an apology. I've been stubborn, but I think it's time I say that I was wrong. I heard that you've actually done well with the Ministry and working with Potter, no less." He paused, not really knowing what else to say. "I also heard about what happened with Granger. Do you know anything about that? Last I heard was that she had moved away."

"I'd rather not discuss Granger, but thank you I appreciate your apology." Draco found that he really did appreciate the sentiment of an apology. "I'm not going to lie, it's tough working with Potter. He's still at hardheaded as ever."

"That's expected. So, have you heard from your parents?" Draco stiffened. "Sorry, shouldn't have asked. It's not my business."

"It's fine. No, I haven't heard from them since the one letter from my mother. It's probably better that way, if I'm being honest with myself. They keep to themselves, hiding and I go on with my life." Blaise nodded. "Besides, I think I'm doing pretty well without them here fucking everything up. Merlin knows I don't need my father's influence anymore."

There was a certain comfort, Draco thought, in having a conversation with someone who could understand how you're feeling. "I think our parents have fucked us up enough to last a lifetime. My mum moved to France, again. She's been living with some muggle bloke who acts or something that involves him being wealthy. She writes occasionally, but really it's only to tell me that I need to find someone to settle down with."

"Speaking of writing, do you know who sent that package?" Blaise shook his head. Draco frowned and took the box out of his pocket, examining it. "Odd how they'd send it to you rather than send it here."

"Maybe it's from your father?" Draco couldn't help but scoff. His father hadn't spoken a word to him since the battle and he highly doubted he would start now.

"Yeah, right."

"Maybe I should go; let you get to that." He pointed at the package. "We could meet up sometime, if you want."

Draco nodded and led Blaise back to the door. "Take care, mate."

When Blaise was gone, Draco's attention went back to the box in his hands. Who _had_ sent it and why would they send it to Zabini? For a second, he let his imagination wonder and thought that maybe it was from his father, but that would be highly unlikely. His father made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with him. Draco had accepted that.

Curiosity finally got the better of him and he slowly opened the package. Inside was vial with a silvery substance in it and a letter. Draco put down the box with the vial on a nearby table stand and opened the letter.

_Draco, _

_You don't know who I am yet and for the moment that is the best thing. You must not be too happy with me for impersonating you, but what's done is done and I have something for you that I hope will suffice as an apology._

_In the box you will see a vial. In that vial are memories. The mudblood won't remember exactly what happened, but I was able to take some of the boy's memories and store them away. As of right now, he won't remember seeing you and he won't remember anything about his father. That part was just a bit of fun on my end. _

_I only give you the memories as a peace offering. In reality, the memories mean very little to me and my plan. You do what you want with them, but I must warn you. If you give back the memories, the boy will hate you. He'll grow up thinking of you as a murderer. _

_Unfortunately, I saw that you've been interacting with that little group of brave idiots and I must say, I expected better from you. I hope being part of the Ministry and being friendly with Potter hasn't erased the true part of you. The part of you that may get you everything you ever wanted. _

_My advice? Forget all about them and start looking out for yourself. Your future depends on it._

Draco felt sick. How had he not known he was being watched? This person had been keeping an eye on him for who knows how long and he never once realized it. This was dangerous.

He realized that he should tell Potter about the letter, but part of him felt ashamed. This person still thought of him as selfish and self-serving. And what if giving up the vial did more harm than good.

Hermione was already having a hard time dealing with the situation. Would having a grieving child really help her? No; it was for the best that Landon didn't remember anything for now. Plus, it wouldn't be good for the investigation. If Landon saw him as a murderer, Potter wouldn't ever allow him around Hermione.

Draco decided that he would keep the memories and the letter to himself. It was the best thing to do for everyone.

* * *

><p>It had been a week since the funeral and Harry still didn't have any news for Hermione. He shuddered at the thought of having to tell her that there was a chance that whoever did this was gone. The only good news she had all week was when she got her new apartment, not that Harry was too keen on the idea.<p>

It didn't help that the Minister of Magic had asked him to come to his office earlier that morning. He informed him that if he didn't make any progress with the Cooper case, he'd have to give it to someone else and continue on looking for Death Eaters. Harry wanted to throw a fit. A real, proper fit.

He had to do something. He had to find something. How could there not be a single trace of evidence?

Harry had thought about using Legilimency on Landon, but decided that it'd be best not to have him think of that night. Plus, he was a thousand percent sure that Hermione would kill him for even bringing it up. He felt stuck and useless.

He had also had a lot of time to think about Malfoy. He hated himself for thinking about it, but he felt that the only reasonable thing to do was to give him control over the Death Eater division. Harry knew that Kingsley wouldn't be happy about it and Draco would be pissed off, but it was the only way he could give Hermione his full attention.

It also meant that there was a chance he'd be able to keep Malfoy away from Hermione. Ever since that night when he ran into Draco at Hermione's house, he felt that there was something weird between them. First off, Hermione had lied to Harry, which is something that usually doesn't happen. Especially when it's concerning Malfoy. Secondly, he still didn't like the idea of having Malfoy work so closely with Hermione.

How many times would it be acceptable for Harry to want to bang his head against his desk without it seeming like he'd lost his mind? He sighed and pushed his paperwork away from him. Harry hated this job sometimes.

Lunch was right around the corner and he knew that if he stayed inside his office, he'd go insane. He wasn't necessarily hungry, but his office was slowly becoming suffocating. He got up from his desk and got his jacket. They wouldn't mind if he took an early lunch.

He was just about to leave when Draco pushed the door open, nearly hitting Harry in the face. "Malfoy!"

Draco ignored the glare Harry was giving him and shoved a piece of paper into his chest. Harry took it, still glaring at the blond. "What the bloody hell is this, Malfoy?"

"Read it."

* * *

><p><strong>an : **Hello, okay I'm so sorry for the wait and the length. I was completely stuck with wording. I knew what I wanted to happen for the most part, but for some reason, I couldn't type it out. Anyway, I wanted to make it longer, but I thought that it'd be a good place to end it plot wise.

If you have any questions at all, please feel free to ask! Also, thank you for all the reviews, favorites and follows so far! It really means a lot to know what you guys think... Please keep it up.


	6. A Truth and Some Lies

Draco ignored the glare Harry was giving him and shoved a piece of paper into his chest. Harry took it, still glaring at the blonde. "What the bloody hell is this, Malfoy?"

"Read it." Harry put his attention on the piece of paper in his hands and unfolded it so he could actually read what the paper said.

_GOLDEN GIRL OR BLACK WIDOW: The Hermione Granger Story_

_Former love of Harry Potter and all around Golden Girl, Hermione Cooper (nee Granger) has just become a widow. Most people will be thinking about how sad the poor woman must be, but I have it from a trustworthy source that Ms. Hermione Cooper wasn't innocent in the whole ordeal. Wait till you hear what I found out!_

"I'm not reading the rest of this. Who wrote this?" He already knew. It was the same person who wrote a book about Albus Dumbledore and an ugly article about him and Hermione in their fourth year. She had it out for Hermione, Harry knew, but this was too much.

"That cow, Rita Skeeter." Harry crumpled up the paper and threw it in the waste basket under his desk. He hadn't even known that the witch still had her job at the Prophet.

"Does anyone actually believe this?"

"From what I've been hearing around the Ministry, yeah people believe Skeeter's lies. I would have thought these idiots would have more class." Harry was livid. He would have done anything to make sure Skeeter never wrote anything ever again at this point. "Have you heard from the Minister about it? I'm pretty sure he didn't want the investigation in the Prophet."

"No, I don't think he's heard yet because if he had, he would have told me earlier this morning. He's going to find out soon, though. We need to figure out how to do some sort of damage control."

"We need to tell Hermione." Harry looked at Draco as if he was on fire.

"You don't know Hermione so I'm just going to let you know how horrible that idea is. She just moved in to her new flat, she has her son to worry about and the last thing she needs is to hear about some stupid story someone who hates her wrote."

"If she finds out from anyone other than you she's going to be mad."

"I'll deal with that if it comes up. We have other things to worry about right now. Take this for example; Kingsley said that if there's no progress in the case then we'd have to push it aside for Death Eaters. I can't just give up on Hermione like that and I won't… So that means I'm going to have to give you control over the whole Death Eaters case." Harry felt just a little bit bad for Draco and it didn't get any better when he noticed how pale he had gotten.

"I can't do that, Potter."

"I'm going to need you to do it anyway if we want to continue to help Hermione." Draco's face fell and Harry knew that he had given in. "So what is it between you two that changed?"

"It's honestly nothing. I feel bad about everything that's happened to her, but she still hates me or pities me. Plus, she has a lot of things to worry about right now. I'm the farthest thing from her mind, which is for the best."

Harry understood now, well at least he understood a part of it. Draco cared about Hermione. He didn't know if that was a horrible thing or not, but decided that it wasn't something to worry about. "You're right, it is for the best. Alright then, let's get to talking about what you're going to with the Death Eater case."

* * *

><p>Hermione was alone. Her parents had visited her in her new flat earlier and decided to take Landon to the zoo. She was a bit grateful for the peace and quiet. She didn't really like having everyone with her when they were asking her if she was okay twenty times a minute. She loved her family and friends, she really did, but sometimes she loved being with herself.<p>

Instead of sitting around all day, Hermione decided on going to Diagon Alley. She needed a few things for her flat and maybe it'd be good to just go out and get some fresh air. Plus, it had been a while since she'd gone and bought some books for herself and Landon.

When she was ready, she went in through the Floo and found herself in Flourish and Blotts. Hermione knew there were two reasons why she chose to come to Flourish and Blotts, but she decided to ignore the first and think about which books she would like to buy.

It wasn't until she was in the magical creatures section that she realized people were looking at her and whispering. She had figured that people would have found out about Nathaniel, but didn't they have any decency not to gossip right in front of her?

She ignored them, picked up a random book and tried to focus all of her attention on what it was about, but she kept hearing the whispers. She went up to two gossiping girls who immediately stopped talking. "Do you care to tell me what you find so interesting about me?"

"Nothing." The brown haired witch said and pulled her friend away.

Hermione tried not to get upset by this, but she couldn't help it. She hated when people wasted their time gossiping and she hated it even more when people gossiped about her. _What_ were they even gossiping about?

A couple rushed by her and she vaguely heard the words 'black widow' but she couldn't be sure. Hermione put the book back where it belonged and went to the stack magazines and newspapers.

Her heart stopped when she saw what everyone was talking about. In big capital letters were the words "_GOLDEN GIRL OR BLACK WIDOW: The Hermione Granger Story". _Reluctantly, she started reading the article.

_Former love of Harry Potter and all around Golden Girl, Hermione Cooper (nee Granger) has just become a widow. Most people will be thinking about how sad the poor woman must be, but I have it from a trustworthy source that Ms. Hermione Cooper wasn't innocent in the whole ordeal. Wait till you hear what I found out!_

_My source insists on keeping his identity private, but he told me he heard the widowed witch talking to someone at The Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade Village a week before the death of her late husband, Nathaniel Solomon Cooper. My source informed me that Ms. Cooper was whispering to the mysterious man, but luckily enough they were able to catch a few sentences! _

_The two were talking about "taking Nathaniel out" and how "it has to be at night when Landon is asleep". It sounds to me that there is a new scandal our dear Golden Girl has gotten herself into. Did she think she could keep her plans hidden from my magnificent readers? _

_Was Ms. Cooper having an affair and wanted her husband out of the way? Don't worry, Rita Skeeter has your back and will follow up on any lead to find the truth!_

Hermione didn't know if she wanted to be sick, upset or murderous. Rita Skeeter had made her life hell before, but this was a whole new level of horrible. She couldn't believe that she would even write an article like this, well she could believe it, but she didn't want to. Did people actually believe that she would cheat on her husband and then plan to kill him? That was insane.

She put the paper down and walked out of the shop. Hermione didn't realize that walking straight into the crowd in Diagon Alley would be a bad idea until several people stopped what they were doing and looked at her. A few turned to their friends and whispered something that Hermione was sure had to do with the article.

Hermione pushed past people until they eventually started awkwardly moving out of her way. She didn't know where she was going, but she figured muggle London would be her best option.

She could see the Leaky Cauldron in the distance and willed herself not to cry until she could find some place to be alone. _Almost there, Hermione; you can make it._

Hermione reached the pub and right when she was about to pull the door open, someone stepped out. She looked up at the blond, who had _perfect_ timing and felt her chest tighten. This was all too much for her. Why couldn't things just happen right for her? Couldn't she have just one day where her life isn't falling apart?

"Hermione? What's wrong?" She shook her head and tried to step past him, but he held her arm. Hermione turned around and punched him square in the jaw. People got up from their tables, but Draco waved at them to let him know it was okay. He looked back at Hermione who was holding her hand and wincing at the pain. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have touched you."

"Yeah, you think you would have learned the first time." Draco's faced dropped and Hermione found herself feeling bad. "I'm sorry I hit you in the face."

"I'm used to it. So, are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay. I just wanted one peaceful day. It's my own fault. Why did I think that coming to Diagon Alley would be a good idea?" She looked back at him and saw a pink welt forming on his cheek. It looked like it hurt, but he didn't even seem to notice.

"Do you want to sit and talk about it? I'm on my lunch and might as well eat, right?" Hermione shrugged and let him lead her to a table. "What happened?"

"Have you seen what's on the Prophet?" He winced and nodded. "Everyone kept looking at me and whispering. They believe what she wrote. They believe that I planned to have him killed."

"They're idiots. Even I know that you would never hurt someone you love. They want drama and unfortunately, they're using you." Someone came up to take their order and when they left, he turned back to Hermione. "You should ignore them."

"You wouldn't understand, Malfoy. It isn't easy." He raised an eyebrow. She had completely forgotten that most of Draco's life now revolved around people giving him dirty looks and thinking the worst of him. "I mean, it's different. They think I killed my husband."

"And everyone still thinks I'm a murderer. It's what these people do, Hermione. They think the worst of people because they think it makes their lives more exciting." She knew he was right, but it still hurt her to think that people were thinking that of her. "Harry didn't want to tell you about it."

"Probably would have been a good idea if I hadn't gone out."

"He's worried. We haven't been able to find anything, but he's trying." Hermione felt awful. She didn't want this to stress Harry out, but even if she told him to stop; she knew he wouldn't. She was sure that the wizard who killed Nathaniel would have slipped up by now.

"Wait." She hadn't thought of it before. "In the article, didn't Rita say she had a source?"

"Well, yeah, but we just assumed she was lying to make herself sound credible." That could have been a possibility, but surely it was worth looking into. Plus, if they staged it the right way it could look really embarrassing for her.

"I think you and Harry should take her in for questioning about her source and maybe you can make it look like she's in trouble. Just a little pay back for making my life a living hell." Malfoy smirked. He was actually proud of the witch in front of him.

"I think we can make that happen." She smiled a little and found herself actually being grateful for his company.

"Sorry about your face… again."

"Don't worry about it, really. You hit like a girl." She tried to feel offended, but she knew by the size of the welt on his face that she really didn't hit like a girl; whatever that meant.

"Your face says differently."

"Thanks for pointing that out." He glared at her, but laughed. "I think people are looking at us."

"They probably think you're the one I'm having an affair with." She didn't mean to say that out loud. She felt her face heat up. "Maybe we should go."

"No, it's fine. They'll talk anyway, might as well eat while we're here." Hermione nodded and looked down. She would be lying if she said this wasn't a bit awkward for her. It was the first time that she had seen Draco since that night in the house and she didn't know how to feel about it.

"How do you deal with it all?" If she caught him off guard, he didn't show it. Draco shrugged. "What does that mean?"

"It means that I don't know how I deal with it. It's hard, sometimes, to see people staring at me and to know that they're silently comparing me to my father. It just sucks to think that maybe they're right. You of all people know how much of a coward I can be, but I guess I live with it all because what else can I do?"

"That's not fair. I mean, sure, you were bratty as a kid and pretty much insufferable, but I wouldn't blame you. Your parents didn't know the first thing about raising a child. They ended up treating you more like a minion than anything and that's terrible. How could you have learned wrong from right when you were taught that what's wrong is right? Well, if I'm being honest with myself, I thought you redeemed yourself in the end. You helped Harry. You stopped a lot of harm from happening. No one should blame you for not figuring it out sooner. You shouldn't blame yourself."

Hermione didn't know where that came from. She didn't know if she had actually felt that way for a while or just now, but it felt good to say it out loud. Draco needed someone to tell him that and if it had to be her, then so be it. She turned away to see the barmaid bringing them their food and felt her sigh in relief. If Draco was going to have anything snarky to say, it would have to wait until she left.

When the barmaid did leave, Draco still didn't say anything. He was in shock that it was Hermione who told him these things that he needed to hear for years. Sure, he blamed his parents for the way he turned out as a teenager, but he never really felt that he redeemed himself. He surely didn't think that he didn't redeem himself. "I... Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me. It's the truth. It's upsetting no one has taken the time out to tell you sooner."

"Not everyone thinks that way, Hermione. Everyone still thinks of me as the sixteen year old Death Eater."

"What was that thing you told me earlier? 'They're idiots. They want drama and they're using you.' They'll probably have a field day if they see us talking. The 'Black Widow' and the 'Death Eater' seen having lunch together. They must be planning another murder." Draco laughed and Hermione couldn't help but feel proud. "Honestly, though, I think you're a good person now. Eventually they'll see it too. I mean, if I can see it, they will too."

"That's a horrible nickname." Hermione couldn't help but laugh. "I thought Golden Girl was bad, but this one is worse. If anything you should be mad at her for that horrendous name."

"Come on now, I'm trying to be serious."

"Sorry, but really; what kind of name is 'Black Widow'?" Hermione shook her head and took a bite of her chicken, which turned out to be halfway decent.

She was about to say something else when someone pulled a chair to their table and sat down. "Malfoy, I thought you were going to get something from Diagon Alley."

If anyone had bad timing, it was Harry Potter. Draco's face blanked and Hermione found herself mentally cursing Harry. "I was, but I ran into Hermione. She looked like she needed someone to talk to… or to hit. Either way, I asked her to lunch to let her vent."

Hermione sent a glare to Draco as Harry turned to look at her with a worried look on his face. Draco shrugged and continued eating. "Why? What happened, Hermione?"

"She read what Skeeter wrote." Draco said, which probably didn't help the situation any because Harry looked back at him. "Oh, don't give me that look. She read it before I bumped into her."

"I went to Flourish and Blotts to get a book or two and people kept looking at me. They were whispering things and wouldn't stop staring. It wasn't until I saw the Prophet on the table that I knew what it was about." She felt herself getting sick, but she ignored it. "I was upset, but I'm okay now."

"That's good. You know you're always welcome over at my place if you need to talk."

"I know, Harry. Thank you."

"Okay, so Draco and I have to go back to the Ministry. You'll be okay getting home?"

Hermione nodded and watched them leave, though Draco looked a little reluctant. She found herself wishing he didn't have to go and she almost hated herself for it.

* * *

><p>"That didn't look like she hated you or pitied you." Draco had been thinking the same thing, but he didn't know what else to think. She actually thought well of him and that meant more than anything to him.<p>

He knew he shouldn't feel anything towards her, but at this moment, he couldn't help it. She had comforted him and had let him comfort her. Sure, he got a punch in the face, but it was probably worth it in the scheme of things. "No, it didn't."

"So do you know what's going on between you two now?"

"Not a clue. I don't think it's anything, though. She was just being nice and I didn't want to see her hurt. It's nothing. It can't be anything and I don't expect it to. She _just_ lost her husband and now she has these rumors to deal with." Draco didn't know why, but he felt oddly comfortable telling Harry all of this.

"So do you like her?"

"Maybe? I don't know. Yes? It's wrong, I know and I don't plan on ever telling her. I just… I can't help it, I guess." Harry nodded. Draco had expected him to curse him or hit him, but none of that happened. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that you're an idiot. I'm thinking that you were there when Hermione needed it and she didn't push you away like she's been doing to me and Ginny. I'm thinking that this is all sorts of messed up, but she trusts you. I don't know why, but she does and that's good for her." Draco didn't understand what Harry was trying to say. Was he okay with Draco liking Hermione? "You have to keep what you're feeling to yourself. You can't let her know or else she won't talk to you ever again. She won't trust you anymore and she'll completely shut everyone out."

"I never planned on telling her. I never even planned on admitting it to myself."

"Well you did and now we have to deal with it."

When they got to the office, Draco let Harry know about Hermione's idea of bringing Rita Skeeter in for questioning and why. Harry thought it was a great idea. After they finished planning it out, Harry sent Draco home.

Draco didn't know what to do when he got home so he went back to find the little box and the letter.

He should have given the vial to Hermione. It was a bad idea to keep it, but he still felt that it would cause more harm than good. She didn't need a depressed child and she definitely didn't need the pressure of knowing whoever killed her husband had been keeping an eye on them.

Maybe that should be her own decision to make, but something else was keeping him from giving her the vial. He didn't really know what it was, but part of him knew that it had something to do with the way her son would see him. He didn't want to be viewed as a murderer.

Draco put the vial back in the box and picked up the letter. Reading over it again, he felt disgusted with himself. He knew he wasn't selfish anymore, or at least he hoped he wasn't. No one wanted to be viewed as the bad guy, but he couldn't help but think that what he was doing was purely selfish.

He tore up the letter and resolved on giving the vial to Harry. He would know what to do.

* * *

><p>Hermione got home safely and decided that she wasn't going to leave her flat unless it was absolutely necessary. Today was weird and she would rather not have to deal with it ever again. Well, part of it at least.<p>

She didn't know why, but she really enjoyed having lunch with Draco. It was nice having someone to talk to who would understand. Harry couldn't really understand, he'd always be viewed as the hero. Even when no one believed him about Voldemort, he was able to stay strong and he fought back.

Hermione wasn't able to do that. There was no one to fight back and no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't find someone to fight against. There wasn't going to be a secret alliance where she could learn how to find her husband's murderer. There wasn't anything she could take her feelings out on.

Until she realized that she could do that with Draco. She didn't want to make a habit out of having conversations after physically assaulting him, but it still felt great that he would let her. It felt nice knowing that she had someone to go to that didn't expect anything from her.

She hadn't expected having that with Malfoy, of all people, but there he was anyway.

Hermione didn't know what she felt towards, Draco. She wished she could continue convincing herself that it was nothing, but today showed that it really wasn't. She liked him. She didn't know just how much she liked him, but it was still there.

She felt horrible about it. She missed Nathaniel and she knew that he wouldn't be too happy to know that she liked someone else so soon. Maybe the reason why Hermione found herself liking Draco was because she missed Nathaniel.

In reality, she felt that that could be the real reason she liked Draco, but something was telling her that it wasn't. She wanted to be sick. How could she honestly like Malfoy?

She knew that he wasn't the same person he used to be; she told him as much, but she didn't see how she could like him. Hermione needed to get over whatever she was feeling and fast.

Just before she could start mentally cursing herself again, the doorbell rang. She ran up to the door to see her parents holding a sleeping Landon. She couldn't help but smile. Her mother walked into the living room, followed by her father. "I'm going to go put him to bed. He had a long day."

Mrs. Granger left the living room, leaving Hermione alone with her father. She hadn't really gotten to speak to him alone and she felt horribly about it. She knew that Nathaniel and her father got along. "So, dad… How are you doing?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing." Hermione sat down in the seat next to her father. "How have you been coping since the funeral?"

"I was quite a mess, wasn't I? I've been dealing with it fine, I suppose. I've still got to get up and live my life; take care of Landon, find a job at the Ministry and just make sure I can provide safety for my family. There was an article today in the wizard newspaper about me. They were saying how I planned to have Nathaniel murdered. I was miserable for a second. People kept staring at me and talking about me as if I weren't there. It was horrible, but a friend saw me and took me to lunch. They were a great help." Was Draco her friend? She wasn't even sure.

"Well I'm glad you're feeling better now. I'm sorry that people are using your horrible situation for entertainment, love. If you want to come stay with us for a few months, we'll be okay with that too. We can't protect you with magic, but you're still our daughter and we'll do our very best."

"Thanks, dad, but I think it'd be better if I stay here. I just got the flat, it's near the Ministry, and I have wards up. It's safe and I think I just want it to be me and Landon for a while." Mr. Granger nodded as Mrs. Granger walked into the room.

"Okay, well we probably should be off. You look a bit exhausted yourself, darling." Hermione got up and hugged both of her parents. "Goodbye, love."

"Goodbye." And then she was alone.

* * *

><p>Harry still didn't know how to process what Draco had told him. He liked Hermione. Which would have been weird enough had she not just lost someone she loved. Harry wasn't angry; he wasn't even disappointed. He was just confused as to how it all happened.<p>

He knew that something had happened that night Hermione came back from her house. The night that Draco was just there standing on the porch. He just wished that he could know what exactly happened.

Maybe then he'd be able to understand just how serious this 'relationship' between the two is getting. If that's even what it was. He wasn't even positive Hermione felt anything for Draco. She probably didn't.

Still, he couldn't stop thinking about it. What the hell was going on? He had no idea and he was pretty sure it couldn't be good. He just hoped that Draco kept his word to keep his feelings to himself.

When Harry got home, Ginny was waiting for him with a copy of the Daily Prophet. "I know."

"How is she doing?"

"She's okay now or at least that's what she told me when I walked in on her and Malfoy having lunch." Ginny raised an eyebrow. "I know, it was weird; they didn't even notice when I walked into the pub. I stood there for about five minutes just looking at them. They were so into their conversation, I almost threw up."

"What did you tell them?"

"Nothing. Well, nothing to Hermione. I spoke to Draco afterwards." He sighed. He knew telling Ginny would result in either a fit or her running and telling Hermione. "He said she read the article and he let her talk to him about it. Nothing else, really."

Harry hated lying to Ginny, but he felt that it was the right thing to do if he wanted to keep Draco's confession from Hermione. He thought for a second Ginny could sense that he was lying, but she let it go and left to continue making dinner. He was grateful.

* * *

><p><strong>an: **I have no idea why I added Harry's part if I knew it was going to be short, but I felt like it was necessary. Anyway, I have a few things to say. First of all, I'm sorry this took so long to post. I had a lot of personal issues and honestly I can't talk about them here, but if you feel like talking my tumblr is on my profile.

Secondly, I really wish you all would review more and let me know what you're thinking. Would you want longer chapters? How do you feel about Draco and Hermione? Do you like the writing? Any bit of criticism or praise helps me immensely!

Lastly, I love you all so much for reading and being patient with me. I'm a rather difficult person and the fact that you put up with me is amazing. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.


	7. No Control

Draco had been ready to give the vial to Harry as soon as he walked into the Ministry, but it seemed like Harry had more important things to worry about. Other Auror's had brought in Rita for questioning and according to Potter; it had been quite a show.

Harry was sitting in Draco's office, bragging about how many great questions he'd been able to come up with to scare Skeeter with. He was amused with the story and the amount of people that had been around to witness it. Surely, Rita's reputation would be ruined at least just a little bit after this morning.

"How long has she been waiting for us to interrogate her?" Draco asked, fiddling with a stack of papers on his desk.

"Not nearly long enough." Harry got up and stretched. "I suppose we should go and talk to the witch."

Draco nodded and followed Harry as he walked to the interrogation room. Rita sat there, looking around the room until her beady little eyes settled on Harry. "I should have known Boy Wonder would be the reason I'm here."

Her eyes drifted from Harry to Draco and she stiffened. "What is he doing here?"

"Do you have a problem with Malfoy being here?" Harry asked, sitting across from her. Draco decided that he'd stay standing up.

"He's the reason I'm here." Rita narrowed her eyes at him, leaving Draco both annoyed and confused. "He's the one that came to find me at my home and told me to write the article."

"Ms. Skeeter, please have more sense than that. You are a wizard after all." Draco said, rolling his eyes. "I would never actively seek you out so you could write a trash article about someone who just lost their husband."

"So, you're saying it was someone else." She said, unsure.

"That's exactly what we're saying Rita. You let a stranger into your home to tell you a series of lies. Hermione is innocent in all of this and if I could send you to Azkaban for insinuating that she had anything to do with his death, then I would." Harry was furious. Draco could tell that much and he didn't really know what he would do.

"But you can't." Rita smirked, knowing that as long as she kept her mouth shut they wouldn't have anything against her.

"Tell us what the man said or we will." Draco said suddenly. Rita could tell that he wasn't joking. The smirk was wiped straight off of her face.

She looked over to Harry, as if he would contradict what Draco had just said. "Well, are you going to tell us?"

A sigh of defeat was released from Skeeter's lips. "He came up to me and told me that he was there on the day that Cooper died. At first I was going to go straight to you lot, but then he gave me a reason to write the article. Five hundred Galleons to write the first article and two hundred for each article after that. I couldn't just deny an offer like that."

"So you wrote the article for money." Harry said.

"It hasn't exactly been easy for me these past few years. I do what I have to do to survive." Draco rolled his eyes.

"That's your own fault. After this, not even the Quibbler will buy anything you write." Draco laughed. "Which reminds me, I need to ask you a very serious question. How did you manage to get the Prophet to allow that trash on their paper?"

Rita became quiet and Harry knew what that meant. "What did you do, Skeeter? Don't forget that we have access to some very powerful Vertiaserum."

Another sigh and then Rita was talking. "It wasn't me. I didn't do it, but the person had someone let me post the article. He told me not to worry about it and just to write the article. I did. The rest after that, I have no clue what happened."

Despite what Draco wanted, he believed her. "Potter, can I speak to you outside for a second?"

He didn't wait for Harry to answer before he was pushing the door open. When Harry was outside, he turned to face Draco. "What's going on?"

"I believe her. I don't think she cast the Imperius at anyone and I don't believe she was under it herself. She just wanted money." Harry's face scrunched up in confusion.

"You think someone at the Prophet was under the influence of an Imperius Curse?"

"Well it's the only thing that would make sense. Everyone knows that Skeeter had it out for you and Hermione. They would never publish an article about her, knowing full well that it could all be lies." Harry thought about it for a moment. Of course, Draco had been right. No one in their right mind would use Skeeter's article.

"So what does this mean? We let Skeeter go?" Harry asked finally. Draco didn't know what else they could do. Sure they could give her some sort of community service and embarrass her further, but he felt that it probably wouldn't help the situation any.

"Community service and she can't be allowed to write any more articles about this investigation." Draco said, anyway.

"Sounds acceptable to me. I do still wish we could have had her sent to Azkaban." The dark haired wizard admitted before stepping back into the room. Draco followed him in.

"So here's the deal, Skeeter. We aren't going to send you to Azkaban, but you are going to have to serve community service. You'll appear here every morning at six so you'll know where they'll send you. It will last for the month." Harry ignored the exasperated look on Rita Skeeter's face. "You won't be allowed to write articles about this investigation. If you do, you'll be violating the agreement and you'll spend a full month in Azkaban. You also won't be able to write about Hermione Cooper or her son. Do you understand?"

Despite how she felt, Rita nodded. "I understand."

"Great." Harry said. "You can go. We'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

><p>Hermione knew that Rita would be at the Ministry with Harry today. She didn't know why she was so nervous, but she had a feeling it had something to do with the fact that it was a step closer to the person who killed Nathaniel.<p>

Of course, Hermione was fully aware that it could lead to nothing. There was no guarantee that whoever had been behind it all would even let Rita know his real identity. She wasn't exactly the most trustworthy person in the wizarding world.

It didn't stop her from feeling hope, though. Harry would show up at any moment and tell her what they had found out.

She decided that she couldn't just sit around and work herself into a complete bundle of nerves. Hermione got up and went into the living room where Landon was playing. "Landon, love, come help mumma make cookies for Uncle Harry."

The little boy looked up excitedly. "Otay mumma!"

Hermione smiled a little and went to go pick him up. "What sort of cookies should we make?"

"Chocowate Chip!" With a flick of her wand, the ingredients floated out of the cabinets and on to the counter. Landon screamed excitedly and clapped his hands.

Hermione set him down on a chair next to the kitchen counter and then started setting the ingredients around the mixing bowl. They both started mixing different things into the bowl ending with a whole bag of chocolate chips.

They were putting the cookies into the oven when she heard the Floo ring out. "Harry?"

"Unca Harry!" Hermione set the timer for the cookies before picking up Landon and walking toward the fireplace.

"Hey, buddy!" Harry smiled at the little boy who was now reaching out to him. Harry took him out of Hermione's arm. "What have you two been up to, today?"

"Mumma and me make cookies." Landon said cheerfully.

"That's good. I can't wait to try them."

"Landon, why don't you go play in your room while I talk to Uncle Harry." Hermione said. Harry put Landon down and he ran to his room before Hermione could tell him not to run. Once she knew he couldn't hear, she turned back to Harry. "So, what happened?"

"Nothing much. We talked to Skeeter, but the person used Polyjuice to be Draco again. He paid her to write the article. Draco reckons that he also used the Imperius Curse on the editor of the Prophet so they'd publish the article." Hermione frowned. So really they had found out nothing about this mystery person.

"We've got nothing." She said, letting the disappointment shine through.

"Nothing, but it's not all a loss." Harry said.

"What do you mean?" She didn't think it could possibly make her feel any better.

"We couldn't send her to Azkaban, obviously, but we were able to give her a month of community service. We think we're going to send her to help clean up Hippogriff dung." Harry smiled wide. Hermione couldn't fight her laugh. "You'll also be pleased to know that she isn't going to be allowed to write another article about you, ever."

This did please Hermione. It was just a silent win. Of course, it didn't stop people from talking about her. "We should contact the Prophet and have them write a retraction."

"We would, but we're still not sure if the editor is Imperiused or not. If he is, then there's no way we're going to get anything through." Harry sighed.

She understood this much. "Right. I should have known that."

"There's something else I want to talk to you about." He didn't want to bring whatever it was up. Hermione figured it had something to do with Malfoy and she wasn't sure she wanted to talk about it.

Most of it had to do with the fact that she didn't know what the hell was going on. She didn't like Malfoy. At least not in the way Harry must be thinking about. She couldn't like him. Her husband had just passed away.

It was insane of the thought to have even entered her mind to begin with. There could never be anything with Malfoy.

He wasn't the same person he was back in Hogwarts. Of course, she knew that, but it didn't stop him from still being Draco Malfoy.

She steadied herself before answering Harry. "About what?"

"Malfoy." She sighed. She knew it was going to be about him, but a girl could dream.

"Do we have to?"

"You know we do." Harry led her to sit down. "I need to know what's going on between you and Malfoy."

"Nothing is going on between me and Malfoy. You know this, Harry." Hermione said. She couldn't believe that she had to say this out loud.

"Well, I know that nothing can happen because of circumstances, but that doesn't mean that you don't want something to happen." As soon as the words left Harry's mouth, he knew he had said the wrong thing. "What I meant to say is-"

"Harry, no. I don't want anything with Malfoy. I have never wanted anything with Malfoy and it isn't going to change any time in the future." Hermione said, agitated. "The most that we'll ever be is friends and that's a hard maybe."

She had known that deep down Harry was thinking that Hermione was starting to warm up to Draco and to a certain extent, she was. He had comforted her in a way that Harry and Ginny hadn't been able to. It just didn't take away all the bad things he had used to do. The teasing and insults.

Hermione knew that it was a really childish way of thinking, but if that's what it took to stop her from developing any sort of feeling toward Malfoy; she would do it.

Harry was looking at Hermione as if he was studying her. The moment she caught him, he looked away. "I'm not really sure what to make of it all."

"Then don't." She said. "Don't make anything out of anything. Nothing is going on and nothing is going to go on. Malfoy just feels sorry for me."

Harry almost scoffed, but the look on his face was enough to give away what he was thinking. "Harry, what?"

"Nothing, Hermione." Harry said quickly. "It's nothing and I think you're cookies are going to burn."

"My cookies are fine. The timer hasn't even gone off. What are you thinking?" It wasn't really a question. It was more of a demand.

Harry sighed, trying to find words that would satisfy her answer without giving away Malfoy's secret. "I'm thinking that this is all weird and that Malfoy doesn't feel sorry for anyone other than himself."

"He feels sorry for me. Trust me on that." Hermione said. There was something that Harry wasn't telling her, but she really did want the conversation to end. "I think we should just drop this."

"Are you sure?" Harry asked.

"I didn't want to talk about it to begin with. I'm pretty sure." Hermione stood up and walked back to the kitchen. Harry followed her.

"I'm sorry." Hermione felt bad for making him feel bad, but she was upset. "Hermione, I know we said we were going to drop it, but I want to know what happened with you and Malfoy at your house."

She should have known he was going to ask. He had been curious enough even before she had lunch with Draco. "It really was nothing, Harry. I fell asleep when I went to get Nathaniel's suit. When I woke up, Malfoy was there. I had a break down and threw a hex at him. I apologized and he said he deserved it. That's really all that happened."

"So why is it so different?"

Hermione sighed. She didn't know if she could explain it without making it sound like she _liked_ Malfoy. "Because now we understand how each other feel. I've lost a part of myself and I don't think he's found out about the good part of himself, yet. We both feel like we're missing pieces of us."

She regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth. It wasn't that they weren't true. It's because they _were_ true.

"So what does that mean?"

"I don't know what it means. All I do know is that it's nothing to worry yourself over." The timer dinged and Hermione busied herself with taking the tray out of the oven.

"I worry myself over you regardless." Harry admitted.

"You shouldn't. I'll be okay, Harry. I know that this whole thing is far from over and that we still don't have a clue who killed Nathaniel, but if he wanted me and my son dead; we'd be dead." Hermione said. Sure, she was scared that maybe the man was waiting for something before hurting her again, but she couldn't afford to think that way. Not when she had to take care of Landon and protect him.

"You say that, but I'm sure you don't believe it."

She turned her head to face him. "Harry, stop worrying. Have a cookie, instead."

Hermione made sure that they weren't going to talking about Draco or the case for the rest of Harry's visit by suggesting he bring Ginny and James over for a movie night.

He seemed to forget all about it and agreed to the idea. It was a step closer to Hermione letting them in.

* * *

><p>Draco stared at the vial. It seemed that that was all he was doing these days. It wasn't like he had much else to do. Well, he did, but he was purposefully ignoring the stack of papers that contained the names of possible Death Eaters and their possible locations.<p>

He wasn't interested in going on a scavenger hunt and he definitely had more important things to worry about.

This brought his thoughts back to the vial. He had meant to give it to Harry today, but after the interrogation; Draco had lost all his confidence. If you could have ever called it that.

He knew that eventually it would be too late to give it to him without making himself look like a horrible person. The longer he held on to it, the bigger the chance that Hermione and Harry would end up hating him got.

The thing was, he didn't know how he could explain how he got them. Sure it would be easy to go tell them that Zabini received a package that was meant for him and inside the package was a letter and the vial, but it would only make Blaise look guilty.

Draco knew that Blaise would have nothing to do with the murder. He had no reason to hate Hermione or any of the Gryffindors. Maybe Potter would think the same as Draco, but it would still bring Zabini into the equation and that wasn't fair.

Of course, he could reason that maybe it would lead to a clue about the man impersonating Draco. He doubted it, but would he really want to risk a possible lead to save his ex-friend the hassle?

The answer was no, he wouldn't.

So, why did he still feel unsure about giving the vial to Harry? He wasn't sure what was holding him back. He could lie to himself and say that it was the fact that he didn't want the boy to experience that night over and over, but Draco knew that wasn't the truth.

He didn't want the boy to experience the terror of losing his father. That much was true, but he knew that it had something to do more with the fact that he, Draco Malfoy, was as selfish as the letter described and he didn't want people knowing that.

It wasn't enough to do this one unselfish act and give the memories back to the rightful owner. No. He was a horrible person through and through. Not even his parents wanted anything to do with him. The same parents who had forced him into an impossible situation and then had abandoned him when they were forced into one of their own.

Draco knew that his thoughts were traveling down a road that no man should ever travel to, but he couldn't exactly help it.

He had just been trying to convince himself all this time that he was a good person. When he joined the ministry, he helped a lot of people. He sent a lot of guilty and murderous people to Azkaban.

He had even left his parents alone and didn't bother trying to find them. They wanted to be invisible so Draco let them. They were harmless anyway.

Hell, there had even been times were he donated more than a month's worth of his salary to charities that people in the Ministry had been in charge of. He tried so hard to become a better person, but he didn't feel any better.

Then there was the fact that Hermione had told him that she didn't believe he was a bad person. She said it herself. He had redeemed himself and if anything, that was what he had spent the past five years trying to do.

Yet, here he was. Letting her down by keeping something important from her.

He stared at the vial again. And again. He stared at the bottle for the next hour without so much as moving.

Finally, he picked the vial up from its place on the bedside table and put it in his coat pocket.

Draco was in the Floo, saying 'Number 12, Grimmauld Place' before he lost his nerve. When he was on the other side, he came face to face with Harry and two other faces.

"Malfoy, what are you doing here?" Harry asked. He carefully handed his son to Ginny.

"We need to talk." Draco rushed. Harry frowned.

"Can't it wait till tomorrow?"

Draco tried not to let the agitation show in his tone. "No, it has to be now."

The other wizard raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything more to Draco. Instead, he turned to his wife and son. "Gin, go to Hermione's. I'll be there when I'm done here, okay?"

Ginny eyed Draco wearily, but nodded and stepped into the fireplace. Harry turned his attention back to Draco. "What's going on?"

"A couple of nights ago, Blaise Zabini came to my house and said that someone had sent a package to his house by mistake. I took it and when he left, I opened it. It had this in it." Draco dug into his pocket and picked up the vial. Harry's eyes widened.

"Is that-"

"Landon's memories? Yes, I think so." Draco decided that he would keep the letter to himself. There was no need for anyone to know about that.

"And you kept them from me?" Harry narrowed his eyes. This was the part that Draco feared.

The blond wizard nodded his head slowly. "I didn't know when the right time to give them to you was and then the whole scandal with Rita Skeeter happened."

"You should have given them to me the moment you received them!" Draco knew Potter was pissed off. His body language said everything. His fists were clenched, jaw was tight and his eyes were still narrowed. He wouldn't be surprised if Harry punched him in the face.

His hand held the vial safely. "I know and I wanted to, but I was scared. I mean, I wasn't scared as much as I was worried."

"What the hell could you possibly be worried about, Malfoy?" Harry sneered. Now Draco knew he needed to tread lightly.

"About how this would affect the investigation." He wouldn't count it as a lie. "I mean, how do you think it'll help us? Hermione saw the same thing the kid saw. Plus, it won't help her any to give him the memories back."

"What do you mean by that?"

Draco took a deep breath. "Hermione has barely been able to hold herself up. How do you expect her to take care of a child that's also grieving?"

Harry's face slackened. "So it'd be better if we pretend that we never got them."

This surprised Draco. He really hadn't expected to hear those words come out of Potter's mouth. "Are you sure?"

Harry's face scrunched up in concentration. "It'd be better if she didn't know about them. Eventually, we'll go up to her and tell her we found them, but for now we can't. You're right. She can barely find a way to take care of herself."

"So, do you want me to hold on to them?" Draco said. Harry nodded.

"She's here a lot, plus I have a curious child. They'd definitely be safer at your house." Harry said. Draco put the vial back in his pocket. "I've got to go back before Ginny and Hermione start wondering what we're talking about."

Draco took that as his sign to leave, so he did.

He went straight to his dresser and put the vial in one of the drawers. It would stay there until Harry said otherwise.

* * *

><p>When Harry got to Hermione's house, the movie had already started. Hermione and Ginny were standing in the kitchen doorway.<p>

"Harry, come over here." Ginny whispered the moment she saw him. Harry nodded and walked over to them. "What did Malfoy want?"

"Ginny, really?" Harry asked, exasperated. He really didn't want to talk about this. Her face remained serious. "He just wanted to know if he could take tomorrow off before starting the other cases I gave him."

It was an obvious lie, but it seemed to satisfy Ginny. "Gin, can you go with the boys? I need to talk to Harry."

Ginny obliged and when she was sitting with the boys, Hermione pulled Harry in to the kitchen. "What did he really want?"

Harry sighed. He pulled on a serious, believable face. "He said he might have found a lead in the investigation. We're looking into it tomorrow. It might not be anything, though."

He hated that he had to raise Hermione's hopes up, but he definitely couldn't tell her the real reason. He wouldn't let her make a decision that important when she wasn't ready to make it.

"He thinks he found something?" Harry nodded.

Hermione's eyes started tearing up, but she smiled and walked to the living room to join Ginny and the boys.

Harry hated himself for this.

* * *

><p>an: Oh my god, I'm so sorry that I took long with posting this. A lot of things have been happening and I feel so bad for neglecting the story. Currently, I'm also writing a novel for nanowrimo so there's that taking up time, too. I'm sorry again. I really hate that I did this to you all. Please, review and favorite the story. It'd mean a lot to me.

I'm sorry again guys. Thank you for being patient and sorry for the typos and such. I'll fix that soon. It's late and I just wanted to post something.


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